Cold As Ashes
by TBorah89
Summary: After ten years of marriage and ten years of being partners and raising their family together Rayna and Deacon are still going strong. With two adult daughters making their own way in the music industry and other kids they are trying to get through elementary school. Their careers are still very much active. Join them as they navigate this next chapter of their lives together.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the sequel to After The Fire Is Gone. If you didn't read that story first I highly recommend that you do or you will be a little lost. This story takes place roughly ten years after chapter six of the first story to give you a little guideline for the time table.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything I'm just using it for my own amusement.

* * *

Chapter 1

Rayna put her key into the front door and nudged it open hoping that the dog wouldn't start barking. She pulled her roll on suitcase behind her and left it next to the staircase. She went into the kitchen thinking that she was probably going to have to put on another pot of coffee. It was ten in the morning and Deacon could kill a whole pot by himself in that length of time.

She was surprised when she saw that there was still almost a whole pot a coffee left. She poured herself a cup and then went off in search of her husband. "Deacon," She called out softly.

"Shh, I'm in the music room." Deacon answered in a harsh whisper.

Rayna walked into the music room and she found her husband standing and rocking a little boy of about four or five with rust colored hair in his arms. "Did I come in before you could get him down for his morning nap that's actually you're morning nap?" She asked.

"No, he's got a little cold, momma. He ain't slept all night and he's been runnin' a fever. I just got him down 'bout twenty minutes ago, but if I sit or try to lay him down he wakes back up. He's been so damn miserable." Deacon reported.

"Did you call the pediatrician? And are the other three infected?" Rayna ran her hands over her face.

"I called you know he told me Tylenol, fluids, and rest like always. That's 'bout all they can do for a cold. He's stuffed up, congested, and he won't sleep. We've been up so long that I had to call big sister number two to take the other three monkeys to school. So far they don't show signs of havin' the plague. I'm sure if Jayme had known it was an option to use to get outta goin' to school today he would have. Jack Henry here is the only one down and he's takin' it like a real four-year-old. He's up playin' one minute and then layin' all over me the next." Deacon told her.

"Here, let me take him. I haven't seen him in three days and I miss him so much. He won't wake up if I sit down with him." Rayna took him from Deacon and sat down on the couch with him. "Oh, momma's poor baby boy. You are burnin' up." She kissed his forehead and ran her hand through his hair gently.

Jackson Henry Claybourne was their little surprise miracle baby. They had been done after Charlie, but God had had other plans for them and they got Jack. He was the baby of the family and spoiled rotten. He was also a very big momma's boy. Out of all of her children he looked the most like her. His hair wasn't quite red, but there were definitely red tones in it. He had her nose, her mouth, her chin, and her ears.

"How was your business trip Aka 'Tandy and I are gonna party it up without our husbands in New York for three days'?" Deacon leaned over and kissed her.

"We got the deal done with the new distributor and that's all that matters. My sister gave me a compliment that I never wanted to get. She told me that I'm finally starting to act like a CEO and less like an emotionally driven artist." Rayna stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.

"Jack Henry looks like you when he makes that face." Deacon kissed her again. "You need me to set up a show or somethin' for you?"

"What I heard wasn't that I'm good at business I heard that I'm becoming like her and daddy that's the last thing I want. I don't think I've had a single on the charts in a year, because the last album I put out was three years ago. I need a new album, babe. And I need to get to the office today just to see how things are going and I know that you have things to do too." Rayna sighed.

"Babe, we will get to work on a new album for you soon. You're still on the top of your game though. You're not old and washed up. I know that's what's goin' through your head right now. It's ok that you took a little break from bein' a superstar to be a label head and a momma. I love the way that our tourin' schedule is set up. We make our own dates and we tour for as long as we want. We have earned that. And you know every year Harley pays for me to do a tour. Yeah, we both have things to do today at the office, but we got a sick little boy." Deacon pointed out to her.

"That's fine we can still take him in with us. It won't be long now until he's off to school like the others. I like to keep him with us as much as I can." Rayna replied.

"I'll put the coffee in the travel mugs. And I plan on takin' my regular nap when I finish talkin' to this new artist I'm tryin' to recruit." Deacon offered.

"Thanks, babe, you're too good to us." Rayna stole a kiss from him.

"Anythin' for the loves of my life you know that." Deacon smiled against her lips.

* * *

Rhett shuffled into the kitchen with his eyes half open. "Babe, why'd you let me sleep so late? I was supposed to take the ankle biters to school."

"I let you sleep because you needed it, old man. You're not the same twenty-four-year-old kid anymore. This game that you love takes a lot outta you. Your shoulder popped so loudly when you took off your shirt to get into bed last night that it woke me up." Sadie leveled her husband with a hard look.

"Sadie, please don't start in on me. I haven't had my coffee yet. I told you that I wanna play as close to forty as I possibly can. It wasn't my main pitchin' shoulder that popped like that if it makes you feel any better. It was my right shoulder and it was because I was stiff from the runnin' into the wall last night. I promise you I'm fine." Rhett twirled his wedding band around on his finger. They had been married for eight years now.

"And I will go along with that until your doctor says it's the use of your arm or baseball. That is when I step in and have you quit. Did you at least hang on to the ball?" Sadie retorted. He was so damn stubborn when he wanted to be.

"Of course I did. Weren't you watchin' the game? Were the kids upset that I didn't get up with 'em?" Rhett took a sip of his coffee.

"Rhett, you know the answer to that one. Do you think that Timmy is honestly gonna let anythin' else be on the tv when daddy's in a playoff game? We all put on our Rivermen jerseys and the rest of our gear to watch just like when we go to the stadium. I must have looked away to deal with our little demon spawn toddler. They weren't upset at all because I promised that you would pick them up." Sadie replied.

"I wonder if little man wants to go work out with daddy and then pick bubby and sissy up from school." Rhett mused.

"Rhett, it's your rest day please rest. You push yourself entirely too hard to compete with the kids you play with. You make me crazy." Sadie knew that nothing she said would make a difference with him.

"Babe, I play more positions than these kids and I'm in better shape than they are. They get hurt easier than I do because I push myself so hard. I'm gonna go wake the half pint up and let him come to the club house with me to work out. I promise you that I'm fine and the minute I'm not fine I will let you know. I love you, thank you for bein' so concerned." Rhett stole a kiss from her.

"I love you too, you're welcome. I'm your wife that's my job." Sadie grinned against his lips.

"Do you have anythin' goin' on today?" Rhett asked.

"I may go in to Highway Sixty-five today. I don't know yet. Rayna just got back from New York this morning and depending on how that went she may not be in a good mood. And she's gonna wanna know when I'm gonna finish my album. I don't have an answer to that question." Sadie answered him.

"Oh yeah, 'cause she's just so unreasonable if you tell her that you're havin' writer's block." Rhett teased her.

"You're a smart ass. I'm sorry that it seems like I'm riding your ass about retiring I just don't want to see you get really badly hurt." Sadie looked at him concerned.

"I know, baby. I promise you my body will let us both know when I've had enough." Rhett kissed her one more time.

* * *

"Hey, mom, I thought I might find you here." Maddie stood in the doorway of her mother's office.

"Maddie, look at you. I swear you get more beautiful every time I see you." Rayna got up from her desk and went to hug her daughter.

"Mom, you say that every time you see me after I've been out on tour for a while." Maddie hugged her back.

"I didn't think you were supposed to get in until tonight. Had I known you were gonna come home this morning I would have cleared my schedule so I could pick you up." Rayna pulled back and studied her.

"Pawpaw let me use his private jet to fly back. I was anxious to get home. I'm glad that tour is over. I just wanna relax for a little while." Maddie replied.

"Of course he did. He's always spoiled all of you rotten." Rayna laughed.

"Speaking of spoiled rotten. Why is Jack all buddle up on your couch with the iPad?" Maddie inquired about her baby brother.

"He has a cold and that's one way to keep him occupied while I get some work done." Rayna answered her. "Jack, can you say hi?"

"Hi, Maddie," Jack looked up long enough to smile at his sister.

"Hi, Jackie. I have presents for you at home." Maddie was just as guilty of spoiling the little boy as everyone else was. She waved at him.

"Madison Miranda, what is that on your left hand?" Rayna grabbed her hand and looked at the sparkling diamond that was a new addition to the rest of the rings her daughter normally wore.

"That's nothing. It's just me trying it on for size to see how I like it. I didn't give him an answer or anything like that if that's what you're worried about." Maddie assured her.

"What I'm worried about is it's a little soon to even be thinking about that." Rayna gave her a look.

"I know, mom, it's Colt he doesn't know how to do things on a small scale. I told him that we aren't ready for this and he told me to try the ring on for size. I agreed to that much and that is it." Maddie explained. She and Colt had reconnected and started dating again.

"Honey, I just don't wanna see you make a decision that you're gonna regret. I've been right where you are before and I think you remember what happened." Rayna gave her a gentle reminder. It was hard sometimes to step back and watch her make her own decisions.

"Mom, I'm twenty-five you have to trust I know what I'm doing now. I didn't say yes because I think it's way too soon for that too. I'm gonna give him the ring back." Maddie didn't need the drama of an engagement in her life right now.

"I know you're an adult and you don't need your momma second guessing your decisions. I only want you to be happy and sometimes that means I'm gonna pry more than I should." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"You have been a pretty great role model. I obviously learned from your missteps I didn't say yes. I know what saying yes to a guy you haven't been dating for all that long leads to. Especially when there is another guy that will probably always hold your heart." Maddie retorted.

"I don't recall raising you to be such a smart ass. I think you took after your daddy that way." Rayna laughed at her.

"It's a gift of mine. I picked it up from this really great guy that I used to date, but he chose the Army over me." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I still can't believe that's why you broke up with him." Rayna shook her head. "As long as you're here sit down. We have something to talk about."

"I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this conversation." Maddie sat down.

"You're not. Your numbers aren't good, Maddie. This last album just wasn't up to par with your usual stuff. I know that you tried to go for a different sound, but it just didn't work out well." Rayna told her.

"Well, what do I need to do?" Maddie asked.

"You need to get some new material out. As an artist it's ok to stumble. You've been doin' this for goin' on a decade now. It's completely normal to have one album that tanks. I've been doin' this even longer than you, so I've had more than one album to tank. The Parts I Remember I kinda hate. Everyone else loved it and at the time so did I, but then I realized that really wasn't the true me. I didn't get back to my roots until The Pieces of Yesterday. That was the first album where I felt like I was the same artist I was when I started out. And I can tell you what the difference was. Your dad co-wrote most of the tracks on that album and he produced it. What I'm saying is you need to get back to your roots. Rush a new album out make that the topic of conversation. It's not unheard of for artists to flood the market with their material." Rayna advised her.

"Ok, I'll get to work on it. Now that I'm off tour I have nothing, but time." Maddie agreed. She found that it was normally in her best interests to take her mother's advice on things of this nature.

"That's a sound plan." Rayna nodded her head.

"Rayna, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were busy. I can come back." JC stood in the doorway. His hair was shorn close to his scalp and he had grown a full beard. He carried his guitar case with him.

"Maddie, being in my office has never stopped you from coming in before." Rayna quipped.

JC walked in and sat his guitar case down.

"Jimmy, when did you get back?" Maddie rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I've been back for a few weeks now. It's really good to see you." JC hugged her back and he felt his heart break all over again. He'd just gotten off a deployment with the Army.

"Why didn't you call me and tell me you were back?" Maddie questioned him.

"I wasn't sure you'd want me to call. And then I saw that you were seein' Colt so I figured why bother." JC shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you mind waiting for me in the writers' room, Jimmy? I just need to get Jack all set and I'll be right in." Rayna diffused what could be a rather explosive situation before it could get out of hand.

"No, I don't mind at all. Take your time I got nowhere else to be." JC gathered his guitar and went off to the writers' room.

"What's wrong with him? That's not the JC I know. He's different." Maddie asked her mother.

"I'm not sure. All I know is he's living out in the barn that has the bunkhouse attached to it. I think he saw some things while he was away that he's struggling with. He won't talk to anyone about it though. We are all just doing what we can for him right now. I've got him working on a new album. I should really go help him with that, but I will see you at home later." Rayna answered her as best she could.

"Yeah of course. If you don't mind I think I'm gonna hang out in here with Jack for a little bit." Maddie replied.

"He's your brother do what you want with him." Rayna kissed her head. "I'm glad to have you back home."

"It's good to be back, mom." Maddie smiled.

"Give that ring back to Colt you're not ready. I saw the way you just looked at Jimmy." Rayna offered her opinion.

"God, mom, just go. I know I plan on it." Maddie laughed.

"And, Maddie, what I said about doing whatever you want with your brother. That doesn't include selling him to the circus." Rayna added.

"I didn't plan on it." Maddie rolled her eyes playfully.

"Sure you didn't." Rayna laughed and went to meet up with JC.

"Your momma is crazy you know that?" Maddie snuggled up to Jack on the couch.

"She's your momma too and she's not crazy." Jack defended Rayna.

Maddie just laughed at him and kissed his cheek.

* * *

"I can't remember the last time we've spent the whole morning in bed together." Avery ran his hand up and down Juliette's back.

"Someone was in a very attentive mood when he got back from droppin' the kids off at school. When you're in a mood like that it makes it easy not to leave this bed." Juliette grinned up at him.

"I was just happy to have the alone time with you without one of us having to jump up and go somewhere right away." Avery replied.

"That is nice. Every now and then it's good for us to just slow the pace down a little." Juliette agreed with him.

"The only thing I have to do today is meet up with Scarlett and Gunnar. We are gonna discuss going out on tour together in a few months." Avery reminded her.

"I know that you have your little meetin' with them. I will keep your children entertained until you get home." Juliette wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You act like they aren't your children too." Avery laughed.

"They are only mine when they are behavin' every other time they are yours." Juliette peppered kisses along his jawline.

"That sounds like a good deal for someone and it's not me." Avery moaned softly from the feel of her lips against his skin.

"Don't you go actin' like you don't love bein' a daddy. You love it so much and you're good at it that you were able to convince me to have a third baby when I was ready to be done." Juliette grinned and wrinkled her nose up.

"You know that our lives wouldn't have been complete without that perfect little boy." Avery pointed out to her.

"I'll grant you your point on that one. I don't know what I would do without the four of you here to keep me sane. I just know that I would be incredibly lonely." Juliette pecked his lips.

"I would be too." Avery agreed with her.

* * *

"Dad, I have three things here that belong to you. I hope you want them because I'm done with them." Daphne walked into Deacon's office without bothering to knock.

"Do they answer to the names Deac, Jayme, and Charlie?" Deacon asked with a warm smile on his face.

"They sure do." Daphne confirmed for him.

"I don't want 'em. See if you can't sell 'em and make some money off of 'em." Deacon replied.

"Daddy, that is not nice." Charlie had a sassy little personality. She lived up to the nickname of Pistol that her father had given her at birth. She had his dark brown hair and blue eyes.

"I'll just go scope out the writers' room and see what kinda talent is hanging around." Jayme said. At almost ten he was already a serial womanizer. He got more of Rayna's outgoing personality.

"You only wanna go see if Casey is in there, Jayme. I'll just borrow one of daddy's guitar's and play 'round a little bit." Deac had inherited his father's deep southern accent. He was also more like Deacon personality wise.

"Now you see why I'm in a hurry to get rid of them." Daphne arched her eyebrow.

"Don't be that way, Squirt, the three of them love you to death." Deacon used his old nickname for her.

"Dad, I outgrew that name a long time ago." Daphne was twenty-one now and she had really grown into her own as an artist.

"You know that I'm always gonna call you that. I don't know why you bother tryin' to get me not to." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"I do know that. How's Jack doing?" Daphne inquired about her youngest sibling.

"Henry is gonna be just fine. It's just a cold." Deacon reassured her. For whatever reason he called his youngest son by his middle name most of the time. And if he didn't he called him Jack Henry.

"That's good. I was worried about him. He's normally all happy and giggly. He was so sluggish this morning." Daphne sounded relieved.

"Deacon, I need a soundin' board and the last time I checked that's in your job description." Casey barged into his office.

"Oh look, dad, there's your fourth daughter." Daphne rolled her eyes playfully.

"Hey, Daph, hey, little crib midgets." Casey waved at Daphne and the other three Claybourne siblings.

"Casey, I honestly don't know who is needier you or Maddie. Lay it on me." Deacon knew from experience that it was just better to let her get whatever she had on her mind out of her system.

"I'm in the middle of recordin' this new album and I don't know somethin' just doesn't feel right to me." Casey replied.

"Casey, that's probably because you've been in the studio nonstop for a while now. You need to step back and take a break from it. If you try to force it, it ain't gonna be any good." Deacon laid some of his Man Wisdom on her.

"Are all recoverin' alcoholics as wise as you are? Is it somethin' 'bout AA that makes you sound like a sage old man?" Casey asked him in mock seriousness.

"You are more trouble than you're worth sometimes, girl. Do me a huge favor and get the hell outta my office." Deacon shook his head.

"Alright, I'm goin'." Casey relented. "Daph, we still on for tonight? Your sister is gonna be back in town and we can finally celebrate your twenty-first birthday properly."

"Yeah, we're on for sure. I've been looking forward to this for a long time." Daphne grinned at her.

* * *

"Come on, Jimmy, you're a way better song writer than that put some effort into it." Rayna tilted her head to the side and cocked an eyebrow at JC.

"Rayna, I don't know what you want from me. If I had any clue I'd give it to you if only to get you off my ass for a little while. I ain't writin' no different than I normally do." JC threw his hands up in frustration.

"Yes you are writing differently than normal. There's normally more substance to your songs than this. You're just phoning this one in. I know you can do better. You are capable of better. You were writing better songs than this one ten years ago. You've got the hang of this now there is no excuse for you trying to half ass things." Rayna put her foot down with him.

"What do you want from me? Let's start there. Tell me what you want from me and I can try to give it to you." JC didn't know what else to do.

"I want to explore your softer side a little with this new album. You've been out of commission for the better part of a year. This is your chance to come back fresh and remind people of what made them fall in love with your sound to begin with." Rayna wasn't going to let him off the hook or make this easy for him. She could see a lot of unchecked emotion just simmering under the surface waiting to get out.

"Ok, we can try it, but I can't make you any promises. The only thing I can tell you is that I will work my ass off." JC relented.

"Does that mean you maybe have a time table for when you're gonna stop livin' in my barn and go back to your place?" Rayna asked him. He'd come back from his deployment a different man than when he'd left.

"I'll leave your barn just as soon as I find a new place to stay. That's Maddie's apartment she's the one that fell in love with it and I just let her have what she wanted. I mean I know that I can always go back to Deacon's old place, but I need to get a place of my own." JC replied.

"You know that you're welcome to stay in that barn as long as you need to. I just don't know why you didn't go to Hailey and Max's. I'm gonna be real honest, we're all worried 'bout you, boy." Rayna reached out and put a comforting hand on top of his.

"There's nothin' for you to worry 'bout I'm fine, I promise." JC knew the words were a lie as soon as they left his mouth.

"Everyone knows that you're not fine. Even Maddie could see it when you walked in earlier. I love my daughter, don't get me wrong, but what she did to you wasn't right. She waited for you to go off on deployment and then she broke up with you. I understand her reasoning behind it, but with as much love and history as there is between you two you both deserved better than that. I know part of your problem is that you're not over her and the truth be told she's not over you either. I think there is something else bugging you that you're not saying though." Rayna called him out on his bullshit.

"Rayna, I really don't wanna talk 'bout Maddie or whatever else there is that may be botherin' me. She's with Colt now and I guess I gotta learn to accept that. I just wanna write. That is the one thing that I can handle right now." JC laid it out on the table for her.

"Ok, we can do that, but first I have to say this. If you love her the way that I know you do you'll fight for her. Don't let her go without at least trying to get her back." Rayna offered her unsolicited advice on the matter and she left it at that.

* * *

A/N: Here is the first chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks again for all of the great feedback on the last story. This is gonna start off a little slow like the last story until we get to the point we need to be to bring everyone in. I promise that it'll all be well worth the wait. You guys have stuck it out with me this long and I like to think I've earned your trust when it comes to that. Until next time please review.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 2

"I can't tell ya'll how great it is to have all my children under the same roof again. Ya'll scattered to the four winds on me and now I play hell gettin' you all home at the same time. I even have trouble gettin' all the little ones in the house at the same time. They are always on the go too. Football, baseball, softball, wrestlin' it's always somethin' with them." Deacon sat on the couch and just looked at all his children. They were all growing up on him faster than he would like.

"And we have two older daughters that are always out on tour." Rayna added.

"Listen to them lay on the guilt trip, Daph. I think they have finally gotten the hang of this parenting thing." Maddie joked with her sister.

"That guilt trip is more for you than for me. I see them way more than you do." Daphne teased back.

"Deac, Jayme, Charlie, Jack, if you guys go look up in my bedroom there are four bags on my bed. Each one has your name on it. Bring them down here I want to see you open them." Maddie told her younger siblings.

"Jackie, I'll get yours for you. You don't feel good." Deac volunteered to help out his baby brother.

"That's awfully nice of Bubba. What do you say, Jack?" Rayna stroked his hair. He was attached to her side even more so than he always was.

"Thank you." Jack took his thumb out of his mouth long enough to thank his brother.

The other three children ran up the stairs to Maddie's old room.

"Maddie, you have got to stop spoilin' them so much." Deacon hid a grin when he said that.

"Afraid I'm gonna run you out of a job, dad?" Maddie winked at him. It was no secret that Deacon spoiled them all rotten.

Deac, Jayme, and Charlie returned a minute later carrying duffle bags.

"Here you go, Jackie." Deac gave Jack his bag.

"Ok, you guys dig in. I've been excited to see you open these." Maddie encouraged them.

Deac got a duffle bag full of souvenirs from historical sites around the venues that Maddie had played since that was his thing. Jayme got a bag full of memorabilia from the stadiums and arenas that Maddie had visited. Charlie got t-shirts signed by different artists that Maddie had met in her travels. And Jack got snow globes from the different cities that Maddie had been to. Each child seemed to really enjoy their gifts.

"What do ya'll tell Sissy?" Deacon enforced the use of their manners.

"Thank you, Maddie." They all chorused.

"What? I don't get hugs now?" Maddie opened her arms to them. All four of them rushed to hug her. "I love you guys and I missed you so much."

"I was only her sister for eleven years before we had other siblings and she just acts like I don't exist." Daphne gave her sister a hard time.

"Daph, what I got for you, you don't want me to give you in front of mom and dad. Besides that, you came out and visited me on tour a lot." Maddie elbowed her playfully.

"Uh oh, I don't know if I like how that sounds, daddy." Rayna looked at Deacon.

"I think that there is a good chance that daddy is gonna get a phone call in the middle of the night and have to go out and pick some drunks up." Deacon hazarded a guess.

"I can't confirm or deny that." Maddie gave him an innocent look.

"That of course means that I will have to come pick you up from the bar." Deacon laughed. He'd always been really good about going to pick his children up when they had been out partying. He would rather lose sleep than lose one of them because they'd had too much to drink and tried to drive.

JC came in the house through the side door at that moment. "Hey, I don't wanna interrupt or anythin'. I'm just gonna go use the shower. I gotta work on the plumbin' in the bunk house this weekend."

"Jimmy, you know that you are welcome to use the shower. You're welcome in this house anytime. That is why you have a key in case you need something. Just call the plumber and I will take care of the bill." Rayna told him.

"No, I can fix it. I need somethin' to do with my hands. The least I can do is fix that up you're lettin' me stay here without payin' rent." JC waved her concern off.

"Ray, if the boy wants to fix the plumbin' let him." Deacon understood his need to feel useful.

"Jimmy, you're coming out to celebrate my birthday tonight aren't you?" Daphne asked him.

"Of course I am. That's why I'm gettin' in the shower. I don't think you want me goin' smellin' like a foot. I've been workin' on mendin' the fences where ya'll keep your horses since I got back this afternoon." JC laughed.

"Hey, JC, can I have a word with you really quick?" Maddie asked him.

"Yeah, sure." JC shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll be right back. I just need to talk to him for a minute." Maddie followed JC upstairs.

"What do you need, Maddie?" JC asked her.

"I need to know that we can do this and it isn't gonna be weird." Maddie told him.

"There is no weirdness here as far as I'm concerned. We were friends before we started datin' we can go back to that. You're not mine anymore. There ain't much that I can do 'bout that." JC ran his hand over the top of his head.

"You could show me that you still feel for me what I still feel for you. What the hell happened to you over there? This isn't the man that I know. We did a lot more than date we lived together we were practically married." Maddie argued with him.

"Well, you were the one that decided to end our relationship through a letter while I was deployed. I believe the words that you used were I'm the only man you've ever known and you needed to see what else was out there. If it were up to me we would still be together." JC countered.

"I had to know for sure. I couldn't marry you and then wonder later on down the line if I'd made the right choice." Maddie picked up steam.

JC didn't reply verbally. He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her deeply.

Maddie kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

JC pulled away from her panting heavily. "Is that what you wanted me to do? You're playin' with fire, Cricket. I'm gonna go take a shower and you're gonna go back downstairs with your momma and daddy. We both know where this is gonna lead if we keep goin'. I don't know 'bout you, but I ain't no cheater and I ain't interested in makin' you one. If you want me back you gotta get rid of Wheeler." He didn't give her a chance to reply to that he just walked back into the bathroom.

Maddie stood there with her back against the wall panting. Every kiss and every touch from him set her body on fire. What the hell was she doing with Colt? And more importantly if she was such an empowered woman why was she waiting around for JC to fight for her when she could fight for him?

* * *

"Babe, have you seen my watch? I can't find it anywhere." Will looked around his dresser for his watch, but he had yet to find it.

Mack looked through his assortment of watches and picked one up. He had nothing on, but the towel that was wrapped around his waist. "Here, the maid came today and she must have moved it." He pecked Will's lips and handed him his watch.

"Thank you," Will fastened his watch around his wrist.

"No problem," Mack went into the walk in closet and came back out wearing a pair of jeans and a designer t-shirt. Out of the two of them he was the one with a clothes addiction.

"You look nice." Will complimented him.

"Someone is trying to get lucky later." Mack took Will's left hand in his right hand and played with the simple wedding band that was on his finger.

"I like my chances of that happenin' either way. Your mom is in town and the munchkins are with her tonight. That means you and I are gonna be alone for the first time in a while." Will kissed him.

"I guess that'll all depend on how drunk someone gets tonight." Mack teased him.

"I'm not the one we have to worry 'bout. You, Maddie, and Casey are gonna be drinkin' together. I know how you three get from experience." Will laughed.

"You know that I'm an easy lay when I've been drinking." Mack grabbed Will's crotch.

"Boy, you had better watch yourself. We won't make it out the door in time if you keep that up." Will warned him playfully.

"Come on, old man, let's get going. I haven't seen my best friend in forever." Mack urged him.

"Watch that old man shit." Will was laughing and there was no real heat behind his words.

* * *

"Here you go, Daph, drink up. I still want you drunk this time tomorrow." Casey handed Daphne a shot.

"Casey, I'm pretty sure that that is what causes alcohol poisoning." Maddie pointed out to her.

"Shut up and do your shot." Casey held up her shot glass. The three young women clinked their glasses together before downing their shots.

"Casey, that was really strong." Daphne coughed.

"That was the idea." Casey laughed at her. "So, no Colt tonight?" She directed at her best friend.

"No, he has to DJ tonight. He won't be back in town until tomorrow." Maddie answered.

"Good. The last thing we need is Jimmy and him comin' to blows." Casey breathed a sigh of relief.

"I would like to think that they are both grown men and they are above that type of behavior, but I know that when Jimmy has been drinkin' all his self-control can go out the window. He once laid a guy out with one punch, because he felt me up a little bit." Maddie replied.

"We are not discussing your man trouble tonight." Daphne put her foot down.

"I agree there." Maddie didn't argue with her on that one. She didn't want to think about her screwed up love life.

Casey ordered them another round of shots and a round of rum and cokes. "I third that motion. Clearly anyone that will take a douchebag over the really hot cowboy that is crazy about her has somethin' wrong."

"Casey, don't start." Maddie warned her. She didn't need Casey, her mom, and herself all on her case at the same time about JC.

The girls did their round of shots.

"I leave you three alone for five seconds and ya'll are already gettin' into trouble." JC walked over with Will and Mack. He had a beer in his hand.

"There she is. The only woman that I would happily go straight for." Mack pulled Maddie into a big hug.

"Hey, Mack, I missed you too." Maddie hugged him tightly.

"Jimmy, we aren't gettin' into trouble we are havin' fun." Casey corrected him.

"Let's just let the group trouble maker answer for us." Will joked.

"She so doesn't speak for me. I get into enough trouble without Casey leading me into temptation." Daphne shook her head.

"Like older men who may or may not be married." Casey arched her eyebrow. "And, Will, you really need to relax. You've gotten so uptight since you became a dad."

"Casey, shut up." Daphne groaned. She had bigger man troubles than her sister. Her last boyfriend of sorts had done a number on her. He was about twenty years older than her. He'd been the process of divorce, but he'd gone back to his wife. It could be argued that she had a classic case of daddy issues because of everything with Teddy.

"Forgive me if I don't want my children seein' me plastered all over the internet lookin' like a drunken fool. Their dada has a tendency not to behave when he gets around his women. They don't need their daddy misbehavin' too." Will rolled his eyes at her. He knew that she was only playing around with him.

Mack ordered some shots before he replied to his husband. "You can leave me and my bitches alone. You know that if you step outta line they are the ones that are gonna help me burn all your clothes."

"Oh please, you know that we wouldn't burn his clothes. We would go after his truck." Maddie corrected him.

Mack took the shots he had ordered and passed them around. "Here's to you, Daph, happy twenty-first, kiddo. I can't believe you're this old already."

They all tossed their shots back.

"Mack, this is unacceptable. You've been in the same room as me for five minutes and you haven't shown me any pictures of those babies." Maddie mock scolded him.

Mack took out his phone and pulled up a picture. "Look at them, Maddie. They are getting so big."

"They are and they are so damn adorable. I can't believe that Lacey is three already and Billy is going on two." Maddie gushed over them.

"Me either they are gettin' way too big too fast on us." Will let out a low whistle.

"I hardly recognized them when I got back." JC added.

"Lacey misses her godparents. Maddie has an excuse she's been on tour. What's yours, Jimmy?" Mack called him out on the apparent personality transplant he'd undergone recently.

"I will for sure come by to see her and Billy. You know that I brought them presents from Aunt Maddie." Maddie assured him.

"I've been kinda busy lately. Rayna is on my back and everyone knows what that's like. Plus, I've been doin' some work 'round the ranch. I will get over to see them as soon as I can." JC made yet another excuse.

"Well, I see ya'll got the party started without me." MJ Waterson was JC's nephew and a close friend of Daphne's.

"MJ, there you are. I was starting to think that you weren't gonna make it." Daphne hugged him. She was already a little tipsy.

"You know what your Aunt Tandy is like. She piled a whole bunch of work on me. Internin' at Highway Sixty-five isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes." MJ hugged her back.

"Oh, God, I'm feelin' really old right now. It was alright when his sister turned twenty-one she ain't that much younger than I am, but there is no way my nephew is twenty-one now." JC was twenty-eight now. He was inching ever closer to thirty and he couldn't fathom where all that time had gone.

"You're not the only one." Casey told him.

"Casey, you're only twenty-six. If you're old that makes me old. I am too young and too hot to be old." Maddie put a stop to her nonsense.

"So, it's agreed that I'm old?" JC asked incredulously.

"You've always been old to me." Maddie winked at him.

"If anyone in this group is old it's Will. He's thirty-five now." JC protested.

"I am not thirty-five. Kindly learn my age. We are best friends. Juliette, Scarlett, Gunnar, and me are all thirty-four. Rhett is thirty-three, Mack is thirty-one, and Avery is the old man of the group at thirty-five." Will had to set him straight.

"Uncle Jimmy, you made your boyfriend mad." MJ teased him.

"He only wishes that he was good enough to have me on the side." JC scoffed at that.

"I don't know, Jimmy, he may go for you with that beard. I had a beard when we first met and I know he likes that." Mack couldn't let up on him.

"I'm not even gonna argue with that. One of the highest compliments I can be paid is that gay men find me hot." JC shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, beautiful, is this a private party or can I join too?" Colt slid up behind Maddie and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Colt, what are you doing here? You had a gig tonight." Maddie squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn't sure that JC could behave himself or that she wanted him to for that matter. She would like to see that old spark back in him.

"It got canceled and I decided to come hang out with you." Colt put his lips against her neck and smiled.

"Well, I'm certainly surprised." Maddie replied evenly. She kept her eyes on JC the whole time. She saw his muscles go rigid and his jaw clench.

"Good, I like surprising you." Colt took her left hand and then whispered in her ear. "You're not wearing it."

"That's something we need to talk about. Just not right now." Maddie whispered back to him.

"Hey, Grayson, what's up?" Colt acted like he hadn't heard what Maddie just said.

"Not much. What's up, Wheeler?" JC upended his beer and drained it in one gulp. "I need another beer I'll be right back." He stalked over to the bar.

* * *

" _Stop starin' at the rearview you ain't checkin' your hair. The wheel has spun and the lights are out there ain't nothin' for you back there. Stop holdin' on so dang tight 'bout time you let go. He's a heart breakin' let you down son of a gun. But I ain't sayin' nothin' you don't know Well,"_ JC was in the studio recording one of the songs that he had been working on with Rayna.

" _The day that you stop lookin' back you're gonna find that the future sure beats the hell outta the past. Now he ain't no good I guess he's good as gone. The day you stop lookin' back, girl yeah is the day you start movin' on, yeah, yeah, yeah."_ He put one hand on one of his headphones so he could hear the music better.

" _The sun's gonna come up it's gonna feel good. And after all the rain and pain you've seen I hope you soak it up like you should. Now and then it's gonna stir up but when you hear that old song. But don't let it get to ya baby it's only three and half minutes long. Well,"_ This song was very obviously about Maddie.

" _The day that you stop lookin' back you're gonna find that the future sure beats the hell outta the past. Now he ain't no good I guess he's good as gone. The day you stop lookin' back, girl yeah is the day you start movin' on, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, oh-oh."_

" _Well now hey girl why you lookin' back like that? Don't you wanna trade tears for laughs and love? That could be us tonight. The day that you stop lookin' back you're gonna find that the future sure beats the hell outta the part. Now he ain't no good I guess he's good as gone. The day you stop lookin' back girl yeah is the day you start movin' on yeah, yeah, yeah. Is the day you start movin' on."_ JC put all his pent up emotions into that first line.

" _Stop starin' at the rearview you ain't checkin' your hair. That wheel is spun and them lights are out there ain't nothin' for you back there."_ He sang softly. He pulled his headphones off and put them around his beck. He opened his bottle of water and took a long slug out of it.

"That was awesome, Jimmy." Rayna praised him from the mixing booth.

JC gave her two thumbs out from behind the glass.

"Hey, mom, I'm not interrupting am I?" Maddie stepped into the booth.

"No, not at all. What's going on?" Rayna smiled at her.

"Nothing. I just have nothing to do. I need to start working on some new songs so I can get new music out there." Maddie replied.

"I know you do. You don't have to rush it though. You want it to be good don't force it." Rayna searched her daughter's fingers and found that her left ring finger was bare. "I see that that ring is gone."

"I gave it back to him. I told him that we aren't ready and I don't wanna rush into something just because other people our age are already getting married. I remember having a similar conversation with him when it came to sex." Maddie chuckled humorlessly.

"You've gotta do what's right for you. You can't let him talk you into something that you know you're not ready for." Rayna agreed with her.

"I know that. That's what I told him that we can date. We aren't gonna think about anything serious yet." Maddie assured her.

"I can't imagine he took that well. He is Luke's son after all. He's used to getting his way." Rayna commented.

"He wasn't happy about it, but I told him that's how it's gonna be take it or leave it. He didn't walk out the door, so I take that to mean he agrees to my terms." Maddie replied.

"I just had a really great idea. You should go into the booth with JC. You two have always been great together musically and he really needs your help. Not only that I think you could use this song." Rayna just had a bright idea pop into her head.

"Sure, mom, whatever you want." Maddie agreed.

Rayna pressed the intercom button. "Jimmy, I'm sending help in there. I want you to run through the chorus on that other song. It just sounds like it's missing something."

JC just nodded his head. His breath hitched in his throat when Maddie walked in. "Hey,"

"Hey," Maddie smiled at him.

JC handed her a sheet of paper. "Here are the lyrics. You can see where the chorus is."

"I see it." Maddie slipped on a pair of headphones.

Rayna had the sound teach start the music in their headphones.

JC pointed at Maddie right before their cue.

" _I don't know why I don't put it out baby. We kiss and the flames just get higher. Yeah I know when I hold onto you baby I'm all tangled up in barbed wire. I get burned I don't learn I'll be back give it time. Yeah I know it sounds crazy, but I guess I like playin' with fire."_ They stared into each other's eyes as they belted the lyrics out.

"Now, I want you to try the bridge." Rayna instructed them.

" _So, let's fire it up one more time."_ JC sang.

" _Fire it up one more time."_ Maddie came in just a second later than he did.

" _Baby just put your lips on mine."_ They sang in unison.

"That was perfect. That's exactly what that song needed." Rayna praised them.

"Looks like we've still got it." Maddie smiled at him.

"As far as I'm concerned we never lost it." JC put his headphones back around his neck.

"I meant musically." Maddie corrected him.

"I meant that too among other things." JC stared at her intently.

"What?" Maddie felt a little naked when he looked at her like that.

JC took her hand and put it over his hear. "You can't tell me that you don't still feel it. I feel it. It's all I can feel when I'm with you. And it is so much more intense when I ain't standin' right in front of you."

"JC, don't. It only makes it harder." Maddie replied.

"That's not the only thing that is hard." JC looked down at his crotch.

"Don't be disgusting. I'm trying to have an actual conversation with you." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I'm not bein' dirty, I'm just tellin' the truth. Let me ask you somethin'." JC clenched his jaw.

"What's that?" Maddie asked in reply.

"Why can you be with him, but you can't be with me? Part of your reasonin' was that I'm a soldier and I get called into dangerous situations, but he's in the Army too." JC raised a very valid point.

"No, he was in the Army. He got out. You on the other hand pursued a college degree so you could become an officer. You've been in for eleven years and you basically refuse to quit and let someone else take their turn. Every time you get called away I wonder if this is the time that you're gonna come back to me hurt or worse you won't come back at all." Maddie yelled at him.

"You're askin' me to give up somethin' that I worked very hard for. I worked my ass off to get here, Maddie. You of all people should understand that. That would be like me askin' you to give up your music. I would never dream of it. It's part of what makes you, you. And I love every damn part of you. You can't show me the same courtesy. And I guess if you have so many doubts 'bout if we get married and you wonderin' what you're missin' out on we shouldn't be together anyway." JC yelled back at her.

"You are the same stubborn son of a bitch you've always been. You won't give an inch." Maddie spit out at him.

"And you're a self-centered bitch when you want to be. It doesn't matter who you hurt along the way as long as you get what you want." JC came back with.

"You are absolutely infuriating. Do you know what I've put up with from you? Clearly you've forgotten your juvenile antics with Will. There were Martini Mondays, Tequila Tuesdays, Wing Wednesdays with the beer to go with the wings. Triple Shot Thursdays those were always nice and ensured you were hung over for Free for All Fridays." Maddie listed off for him.

"It's been a long time since any of that happened. You told me that my partyin' was a problem for you and I stopped doin' it so much. I've done every damn thing you've ever asked of me and it still wasn't enough." JC corrected her.

"I came by to see how things are goin' with my golden boy, but I think the better question is what the hell are they doin?" Deacon stepped into the booth with Rayna.

"They are pulling each other's pigtails. That's how two people who still love each other fight." Rayna answered her husband.

"We had quite a few fights like that. From what I recall someone reacted like that over a fifty thousand-dollar guitar." Deacon laughed.

"Shut up," Rayna laughed lightly. "This tells me that there is still hope for them. And I may have a radical idea up my sleeve. I'm gonna keep it to myself for now though."

"They done got on the fightin' side of you." Deacon kissed her neck.

"Stop it," Rayna warned, but there was no heat behind her words.

"Never you know that." Deacon rubbed his beard against her.

"I could stop them or I could go have sex in the lounge with my husband." Rayna pretended to weigh her options. She grabbed Deacon's hand this was a no brainer. "Come on. They are adults they can figure it out themselves." She drug him along by the hand.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Don't worry so much about Colt and Maddie, but we had to have a little drama. I plan on fixing things pretty quickly. Slowly but surely all of our old favorites are going to reappear. Until next time please review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 3

Deacon was sitting in his office going over some paperwork when Rayna walked in. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, a pair of jeans, her favorite cowboy boots, and one of his ball caps with her ponytail pulled through the back. "What are you doin'?"

"I think it's been a while since we've had any time for us. So, we are gonna take advantage of the fact that three of our kids are at school and our beloved little Jack Henry is hanging out with his mawmaw." Rayna replied.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Deacon was very intrigued by this idea.

"Follow me and you'll see exactly what I had in mind." Rayna took his hand and led him out to the parking lot. Her dark blue Mustang Convertible was parked in her usual space with the top down.

"This is gonna be fun. You brought Betty out to play." Deacon grinned.

"That's right. You know when Betty comes out of the garage that you and I are about to have a whole lot of fun." Rayna winked at him. She got behind the wheel of the car. She didn't allow him to drive her Mustang any more than he allowed her to drive his truck. She slipped her aviator sunglasses on.

Deacon got in the passenger seat and put his sunglasses on too. "Take us where we're goin', baby."

Rayna drove them up to the property that her mother had owned on the banks of the Cumberland River. It now belonged to her and her sister. They sang songs at the top of their lungs the whole way.

She parked the car and went around back to open the trunk. One of the good things about coming up here was that it was private and there was chance of them being interrupted. She took a blanket out and spread it out on the ground.

"We came all the way up here for this?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"No, we came up here, because I wanna write a song. This just goes along with song writing for us. Your favorite guitar is in the trunk." Rayna replied.

Deacon collected his guitar and laid down on the blanket and started picking away.

Rayna got a notepad and a pen and laid down beside him.

"So, I think I'm feelin' some kinda girl power anthem for you. I mean we have these three beautiful, insanely talented, brilliant daughters that you can maybe reach through your music along with every other woman out there. Babe, you're one of the biggest feminist that I know. I think this would be perfect for you." Deacon said after giving it some thought.

"I think you're right. Are you sure you wouldn't rather write a duet?" Rayna asked him.

"Nah, babe, it's your turn to shine again. I've had a stellar career the last decade. I'm not sayin' that you haven't, 'cause you have too. But, since Henry was born you've been on the back burner. I wanna see you dust off those rhinestones and kick some ass." Deacon leaned over and kissed her.

Rayna moved his guitar and straddled him. "You are so sexy when you're bein' supportive. And when you build up our daughters that way. Every little girl should have a father that shows them their worth the way you do for our girls. You called me a feminist I think I've turned you into one too. That's a really big turn on for me." She took her hat off and threw it down next to his guitar and kissed him.

Deacon reached up and pulled the rubber band out of her ponytail and threaded his fingers through her hair to fan it out. "I like lettin' the women in my life know how valued and cherished they are. If I don't build my daughters up and respect them then they are never gonna get that from any man." He put his hands in the back pockets of her jeans and squeezed her ass.

Rayna grinned at him and pulled her shirt over her head. "Make me feel like a woman. Make me feel like your woman. Take me, babe."

Deacon unclasped her bra and flung it aside. He fastened his mouth around one of her nipples and sucked on it until it was hard. He repeated the same process with the other. He moved her off of him and on top of her. He kissed down her flat toned stomach. He swirled his tongue around her belly button before he unfastened her jeans. "With a body like this there is no way in hell that you've had six babies." He pulled her boots off and started working her jeans down her legs. Once he had her laying there in nothing, but her panties he kissed her on the mouth again.

"You are just saying all the right things today." Rayna reached up and pulled his shirt off. She ran her hands down his chest and abs. When she came to his waistline she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans.

"I ain't a stupid man. I know where a few compliments will get me." Deacon kissed her again as he rid himself of his boots and jeans. He lifted her hips off the ground and pulled her panties down.

At the same time Rayna worked his boxers down and erect dick stood out loud and proud. She stroked him a few time. A moan caught in her throat when he slid two fingers into her slippery pussy.

"Christ, Ray, it's been too long. You're so fuckin' wet." Deacon pulled his two fingers out of her and sucked on them.

"Fuck me, babe," Rayna bit her lip.

Deacon took one of legs and put it up on his shoulder. He slid into her with a loud, long groan of pleasure. "I love that dirty mouth." He stroked in and out of her with the precision of a steam engine.

"Jesus, Deacon, you're so fuckin' big." Rayna panted. The position they were in allowed him to thrust deeper than normal.

Deacon pushed his hips flushed against hers and ground his pubic bone against her clit. He wanted to prolong this for them both as long as he could.

Rayna grabbed his hair and kissed him roughly. With her other hand she dug her nails into his back.

Deacon withdrew until he was almost all the way out and then he slammed back into her. Then he used short fast strokes. After that slow long strokes. He varied the speed and his stroke length so she never knew what was coming next.

After ten minutes of that Rayna licked the shell of his ear and whispered. "Fuck me from behind, baby."

Deacon wasted no time in pulling out and putting her on her hands on knees. He buried himself back in her before she had a chance to realize he'd stopped.

"Oh, fuck yes. That's so much better baby." Rayna panted. She reached between her legs to rub her clit.

Deacon put his hand on top of hers and helped her. "You have no idea how fuckin' horny it makes me to watch you play with yourself, Ray." He ran his tongue from the base of her neck all the way down her spine and then back up. He took her earlobe between his teeth and nibbled on it gently.

Rayna's breathing grew ragged and labored. "I'm so close, Deacon. So, so close." All it took was one more swipe of his finger over her clit and her walls clamped down around him.

Deacon thrust shallowly while she rode out of orgasm to prolong it as long as possible.

Rayna panted finally coming down from her high. "Fuck, babe. Now come for me."

Deacon thrust harder and faster than before his hips becoming a blur. It wasn't long before he was spilling his seed inside of her.

Rayna felt him come and that triggered another orgasm for her.

Deacon kept thrusting until he went soft and then he collapsed on his back panting.

Rayna automatically laid on top of him and rested her head on his chest. "Mmm, that was a totally productive use of our time if I don't say so myself."

"I agree, baby." Deacon kissed her just because he could.

"How'd I get so lucky to have a husband that's as loving as you, fucks like he's in his twenties, is an amazing father, and is great business partner?" Rayna asked him.

"You finally stopped bein' scared and you said yes to what we both wanted all along." Deacon smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead.

"I didn't know that it could be this good. We get to be together at home and raise our family up. We work together at Highway Sixty-five. We are writing partners. And we our business partners with that club we opened up." Rayna listed off for him. About a year after Charlie was born they had opened a live music venue together called the Exit Ramp. It was a two tiered structure with a balcony on top that was located on lower Broadway. It was a huge success. It was kinda the next step up from playing a small venue like the Mile Marker or the Bluebird.

"We've got the best of everythin', baby. I wouldn't trade it for anythin' in the world even when we ain't gettin' along." Deacon replied.

"I feel the exact same way. Now, as I recall this isn't how songs get written." Rayna teased him.

"We have written songs 'bout this though." Deacon grinned at her.

"I'm pretty sure we can fit that in the schedule today too." Rayna rubbed his chest.

* * *

Rayna looked around the conference room where she had all her artists gathered. It was rare that they were all in town and she got to talk to them at the same time like this. "I'm not gonna take up much of your time today. I'm not even gonna ask for a progress report from any of you. I just wanted to go over a couple things with you. And I wanted to make sure that some of you are still alive because it's been so long since I've heard from you."

"In other words Ray is just bein' Ray." Deacon added.

"Fire away, but it's gotta be quick someone signed us both up to be room mothers." Scarlett shot her husband a look.

"I thought it would be nice for the school to know that we exist. They barely ever see either one of us." Gunnar pointed out to her.

"I'm pretty sure that they know we exist. They didn't think that our children just sprang up outta the ground full grown with no parents to speak of." Scarlett rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, God, I remember the year that Ray had to be out on the road on and off and I got stuck bein' a room mother. That ain't never goin' down again. It ain't fun." Deacon chimed in.

"I remember that. It was pretty hilarious." Daphne laughed.

"Gunnar, as usual this is your fault." Maddie had to get a shot in on him. She found it odd that JC didn't bother.

"Don't start in on Gunnar. All I've heard for the last decade is ya'll on his case." Rayna shook her head. "Wait a minute, where's Will? He woulda jumped all over that."

Will rushed in the door carrying a little boy in his arms with a diaper bag slung over his shoulder. "Sorry I know I'm late. Lacey is over at the Mile Marker hangin' out with June, but this one wouldn't let me outta his sight."

"You can't bring him in here and not let me see him." Maddie held her up.

"Please take him for a minute." Will handed his son over.

"Hi, Silly Billy." Maddie cooed at him. He was so cute that she could hardly stand it. He was a little clone of Will.

"Now, I think we can get on with this meetin', Rayna." Juliette said. She looked at Will pointedly.

"Don't give me that look. How many times did I sit at this table and hold Mel 'cause you were runnin' behind?" Will arched his eyebrow at her.

Rayna chose to ignore their outburst. They were just like children sometimes. She felt like they were all her children even though only two of them actually were. "As you all know CMA season is upon us. The people from CMT have been in touch with me and they want us to be a part of a special that they are gonna air. Somethin' about the best duets in country music or somethin' like that. They haven't gotten the full list down yet, but they did ask for you Maddie, Jimmy, Scarlett, and Gunnar right off the bat. Uh, there's the CMA concert series that they like to hold down on lower Broad. Will, Daphne, Avery, Casey they want you for that. And you know that we try to run a fun little concert series every year before the CMAs at the Mile Marker. That's really all I wanted to talk to ya'll 'bout."

"You weren't kidding when you said that this was gonna be a quick meeting." Avery said.

"Do you people think I want to spend more time with you than I already do?" Rayna teased him.

"You have no choice with some of us." Sadie reminded her.

"You are my gossip partner. I never mind spendin' time with you." Rayna assured her. "Where is Aunt Rayna's little man today? He called me yesterday afternoon just to let me know he's gonna come to the office and see me."

"He is with his father at the stadium." Sadie told her.

"Of course the little munchkin is." Rayna laughed.

"He hangs out with Lamar while Rhett gets in his workout." Sadie could only shake her head.

"Go figure." Rayna rolled her eyes. Her father had sort of adopted Rhett as his unofficial son over the years.

"Hey, JC, do you wanna hold Billy?" Maddie asked.

"No, he looks content with you. I don't wanna disturb him." JC declined the offer.

Will shared a worried glance with Maddie. It wasn't like him to distance himself from kids like that. All the kids in the family loved JC and he adored them in return. "Are you sure? He really misses his Uncle Jimmy."

"He seems pretty happy with his Aunt Maddie to me. I'll get some quality time in with him later." JC assured him.

Will took out his phone and typed out a quick text. "Just have to text my husband and see what he's doin'."

Maddie picked up her phone when it buzzed. The message from Will read _I'm worried about him we need to talk._ Her reply to that was. _I know he isn't like himself at all._

"I guess you're textin' Wheeler." JC snorted.

"You're welcome to do something about that." Maddie dared him to fight for her.

"I'll take that into consideration." JC replied.

* * *

The taping for the CMT special was being held at the Oory. They were spacing it out several days in front of a live audience, because they could make even more money off of it that way.

Maddie and JC were currently on the stage doing one of the songs they'd been tasked with.

" _I'd get along without you baby if I only could. There ain't thing about you baby that does my any good. But still you try to keep me here well is that just your pride. Every day with you is like a roller coaster ride."_ Maddie sang the opening lines to Ball and Chain.

" _It's so complicated it's driving me insane. It's just a ball and chain. Just a ball and chain."_ JC added his vocals to the chorus.

"Rayna, I can't believe that you went for them usin' this song. I know how much you hate it." Luke was standing off to the side of the stage with Rayna.

"Well, if my nephew hadn't written it I don't think I woulda gone along with it." Rayna replied. "Where's your wife? She knows she has to keep you on a leash."

"She's probably out breakin' the bank as usual. She got half of everythin' in the divorce and I guess she came back so she could just have all of it." Luke joked.

"Dad, you know what mom will do to you if she hears you say that." Colt told his father.

"Yeah, I'm aware." Luke had gotten back together with his ex-wife and things were finally going well for them.

" _Listen here. There ain't no doubt about it baby you push me away. Every time I turn my back you're beggin' me to stay. Then you leave me hangin' on I don't know where you're at. If I knew you were really gone well I could handle that."_ JC took his verse.

"Colt, he knows he just doesn't care. Husbands get like that sometimes, but they have to know how far they can go. It's not somethin' to be taken lightly and they need to make sure they are ready for it." Rayna threw out there casually. She wasn't very subtle sometimes.

"I'm twenty-six if I'm not ready for it soon then I never will be." Colt got a goofy grin on his face.

" _I've tried all the things I could to get me off the hook, but still I keep on fallin' for every single trick in the book."_ Maddie and JC leaned into each other and sang that line.

"I do believe that my son is totally taken with your daughter." Luke observed.

"I've noticed that." Rayna nodded with a tight smile.

" _All those little games you play babe used to be fun. Baby were flyin' higher close to the sun."_ Maddie put her hips flush against JC's and rubbed against him while the sang.

JC pivoted away from her and she did the same. _"But you're tearin' me apart all the good is gone."_ He looked over his shoulder at her.

" _There's a shadow hangin' over us and what was right is wrong."_ They sang standing back to back.

JC spun around again and wrapped his free arm around her waist. Maddie looked up at him as they sang _. "It's so complicate it's drivin' me insane. It's just a ball and chain. Just a ball and chain. Just a ball and chain. Just a ball and chain. Just a ball and chain."_

They exited the stage.

"I think ya'll just might be better at that song than me and this one over here." Luke hooked his thumb and gestured to Rayna.

"You should hear their version of At the End of the Day. That's when we first figured out just how much chemistry those two have together on the stage." Rayna bragged on them.

"How many times do I have to ask you not to wear your belt buckles that have sharp edges when we are on stage?" Maddie asked him.

"We have another song to perform today. I will change my belt buckle before we go back on. I'm sorry I didn't realize that I was wearin' this one." JC replied.

"Hey, babe, that was great like always." Colt kissed Maddie's cheek.

"Thanks, Colt." Maddie smiled at him.

"See, Luke? If you would ever bother to compliment me like that you wouldn't always be in trouble." Stephanie walked over to her husband. She was a tall blonde with a killer body.

"How much damage did you do over at the mall?" Luke wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Not as much as you'd like to think." Stephanie leaned against his side.

Luke furrowed his brow and looked at her. "Steph, what happened to the little person that was with you? He comes up to 'bout my hip and answers to the name Lucky." After they had gotten back together they had decided they would like to take another crack at being parents and doing it right.

"I left him with a scruffy looking man with questionable facial hair and a thick accent." Stephanie bit her lip to hide a grin.

Luke just looked confused.

"Deacon. Luke, she left him with Deacon. He's holdin' court back in his dressin' room. More often than not there's a jam session goin' on back there. You know they give him Roy Acuff's dressin' room every time he's here because he's here so much and he adheres to the open door policy." Rayna laughed at him. She'd recognized the description of her husband right off the bat.

"What she said. Lucky will be fine he's hanging out with one of the twins." Stephanie assured him.

"If I had to bet on it I'd say it's Jayme. Deac is probably running around with his favorite tour guide. He's been on that tour so many times he could give it." Rayna laughed softly.

"Mom, I'm gonna head back to the dressing room and get changed before this next song." Maddie spoke up.

"Ok, if you see your father tell him that it is safe for him to come out here now." Rayna replied.

"I'm gonna do the same." JC put his hand against his side and it came away sticky with blood.

"Jimmy, you're bleeding." Maddie observed.

"I'm fine. It's nothin' to worry 'bout. Just a little scratch on my side that I can't get to heal." JC gave her a smile. He really didn't want to talk about it.

"Come on, I have a first aid kit in my purse. You can put something on that so you don't ruin your shirts." Maddie took his hand. She wasn't going to give him a choice in the matter.

"If ya'll will excuse me I need to go check on my husband. I will be right back." Rayna excused herself.

"Colt, do you think you could listen to some advice from your mother for a second?" Stephanie asked her son.

"You'll give it to me either way. I may as well be a willing participant." Colt shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm going to tell you something that someone should have told your dad. I know that you love Maddie and you see her as the one that got away. I know that you bought a ring but, Colton open your eyes and see what's in front of you. She can't love you back the way you deserve to be loved, because she is still so in love with JC. The way she looks at him isn't how you look at someone that you're over. I'm telling you right now whatever it is between them isn't over by a long shot. I'm not trying to be mean or make you mad, but I'm your mother and I don't want to see you get hurt." Stephanie offered him some advice.

"They didn't break up that long ago and of course she still has lingering feelings, but Maddie loves me. I know she does. I just pushed for too much too fast because I love her so much. She told me I needed to take a step back and I did. Everything is gonna work out, mom, you'll see. They were best friends before they started dating. That type of behavior you just saw is normal for them. I should go catch up with her. Thank you for being concerned." Colt walked away.

"That is not how you dance with your friend while you're singing. It was very intimate. And that ain't how you look at your friend either." Stephanie shook her head at her stubborn son. She ran her hands over her face. "Luke, he's gonna get hurt and he's gonna get hurt badly."

"Ain't nothin' we can do to stop that, sugar. It's somethin' that he's just gonna have to go through. Right now he's bein' purposefully blind to what is right in front of him. kinda like I was once upon a time. I knew she still loved Deacon that she was just upset with him and herself. When I felt things start to shift I did what I do and proposed thinkin' it was just gonna make those feelings go away. I saw her as the one that got away even though I never had chance. We were only ever meant to be friends. You were the one that got away just so you know." Luke replied.

"Nice save, Luke." Stephanie smile at him.

"You know I love you, darlin'. Did you really wanna say all that to me back then?" Luke asked her.

"Of course I did. I just didn't feel like it was my place anymore and I was in a rocky marriage. As your friend I should have said it. I don't think there was any way for me to say it without soundin' like a bitter ex-wife. As your friend though I should've said it. And I also didn't think you'd listen I know how you are." Stephanie gave him a look.

"Guilty as charged on all counts. I wish you woulda said somethin' though. Then I'd have known sooner that I needed to come after you." Luke laid on the charm.

"Steph, run far, far away. He's tryin' to be charmin'." Deacon walked up.

"Deacon, where is my son?" Stephanie asked. Those two got along very well they always had. She was a song writer and for the last few years they had worked closely together.

"I sold Lucky and Jayme to Brantley Gilbert he needed some help with somethin'. He promises to give 'em back when he's through." Deacon replied.

"My son gets to hang out with Brantley Gilbert. I can't even manage that." Luke chuckled.

"Just gotta know the right people, Wheels Up." Deacon laughed.

* * *

"JC, stop being a baby and let me help you." Maddie crossed her arms. He was trying to tend to the wound on his side himself and he wasn't having much luck.

"It's ok, Maddie, I've got it. I don't need your help." JC replied. In all reality he just didn't want her to see his wound.

"We both know that trying to twist and contort like that isn't doing anything, but causing you more pain. If you'd just let me do it we could be done." Maddie pointed out to him.

"Ok, fine." JC turned around to face Maddie with his shirt unbuttoned. On his left side there was a deep gash.

"Jimmy, what happened?" Maddie gasped.

"I ain't at liberty to discuss that." JC retorted. That was one way to get out of talking about it anyway.

"This may sting a little." Maddie wiped down his wound with an alcohol pad. She looked at him sympathetically when he hissed through his teeth. "Sorry," She gently applied some antibiotic ointment to the area before covering it with a piece of gauze. "There you go. Good as new." She let her fingers linger on his skin a moment longer than they needed to.

"Thanks," JC looked at her lovingly. Without warning he leaned in and kissed her softly.

Maddie kissed him back for a moment before putting both her hands on his chest and pushing him away. "JC, we can't. I can't. Colt is here and he could come back here any minute. You said you didn't wanna make me a cheater so don't. But, don't act like you don't feel anything for me. I will never believe that to be true. I'd leave him for you in the blink of an eye if you'd say the word, but if you're gonna just push me away don't bother. Let me be happy."

"If I thought for a second that you were happy I might be inclined to do that." JC replied just as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Maddie called out. She didn't trust herself to be alone with JC and nothing happen between them.

"Hey, I'm not interrupting something am I?" Colt asked.

"No, she got me fixed up good as new and now I'm gonna go change shirts before our next song." JC excused himself quickly.

"He is so damn infuriating." Maddie groaned.

"What did he do now?" Colt wrapped his arms around her.

"He's being evasive and not open about how he got hurt." Maddie grumbled.

"I'll say this to get him off your mind. I was infantry and we thought that we were tough, but he's a Green Beret they are real badasses. There are things that they do that he can't talk about. Don't take it personally it's nothing against you." Colt reassured her.

"I know that. I just worry about him. He doesn't have the brains to worry about himself sometimes." Maddie relaxed into his embrace.

"He has other people to worry about him. That's not your job anymore, Maddie. Let someone else try to get through to him." Colt told her.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Maddie admitted with a sigh.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I had to throw a little Rayna and Deacon alone time in there for you to make the drama a little more bearable. Until next time please review.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 4

"One peanut butter sandwich with grape jelly cut in half." Gunnar tossed a sandwich to Scarlett to put in a lunchbox. "And one peanut butter sandwich with strawberry jelly hold the crust cut into triangles." He tossed her another sandwich.

"Got it and got it." Scarlett finished packing their kids' lunches.

"That is as quick and painlessly that we have gotten through the morning routine in a while." Gunnar commented.

"I know the only thing left to do is get them out the door. Lucky for us Uncle Deacon volunteered to take them to school this week, 'cause we've got all that promotion to do for our new album." Scarlett replied. "Jase, Riley, both ya'll get a move on!"

Both children appeared a second later. Jase was about seven with dirty blonde hair. Riley was a year younger than her brother she had dark hair like Gunnar.

"Here are your lunches." Gunnar handed them each a lunch box and kissed their heads.

"Ya'll come here and give momma a kiss." Scarlett stooped down and kissed both of them.

"Love you, momma." Jase gave her a big hug.

"I love you too, momma." Riley hugged her legs.

"I love ya'll so much. Have a good day at school and learn somethin' new." Scarlett encouraged them.

"Let's go outside and wait for Uncle Deacon. Your momma has to get ready and you have to go to school." Gunnar ushered them out the door by tickling them.

Scarlett laughed at them. With Gunnar it was just like having three kids sometimes, but she wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

Gunnar got the kids outside and was playing in a leaf pile with them.

Deacon pulled up and honked his horn. He was driving Rayna's car and he felt like a soccer mom. He rolled down the window. "Gunnar, what the hell are you doin', son?"

"Occupying my children." Gunnar pulled a leaf out of his hair.

"Jase, Riley, come get on in the car. We gotta get to school." Deacon urged them.

"Go on, daddy will see you two later have a good day." Gunnar hugged them and sent them on their way.

"Ya'll know the rules you want a ride you gotta pay the toll. Give your Uncle Deacon some sugar." Deacon stuck his head out the window.

"Hi, Uncle Deacon." Jase kissed his cheek.

"Hi, silly Uncle Deacon." Riley gave him a kiss and got into the backseat.

"Thanks for doing this, Deacon." Gunnar waved at him.

"Don't mention it. You know I don't mind it." Deacon waved back. He looked over his shoulder at all the kids. "Is everyone buckled in back there?"

He got a chorus of yes in response.

"Alright, let's get goin' then." Deacon put the car in drive and went on his way. He dropped the five older kids off at school first before he headed to the preschool to take Jack to school. That was always hard because he was so attached to both his parents.

"Ok, Buddy, we gotta go to school today." Deacon took him out of his car seat.

"No, daddy, no school." Jack protested.

"Yeah, school. You wanna be a big boy like Deac and Jayme don't you?" Deacon tried to appeal to the side of his son that wanted to be like his older brothers.

"No, I no go to school. I go to office and help momma work." Jack shook his head.

"You don't have to stay long. It'll be fun I promise. You know that daddy never breaks his promises." Deacon reasoned with him. He carried him into the school.

"No school." Jack continued to protest.

"Look, Henry, see all the kids havin' fun. Don't you wanna go play with them?" Deacon hoped and prayed that he didn't start crying. If he started crying then he would cave.

"You come right back and get me?" Jack asked him.

"Yes, I will come back and get you as soon as it's time." Deacon promised him.

"I go play, daddy." Jack squirmed out of his arms and ran off to play.

"He's gonna stay today?" The teacher asked Deacon.

"He's gonna stay. He almost always does when I bring him. He's got my wife wrapped so tightly 'round his finger that all he has to do is look like he's gonna be upset and she will bring him to the office." Deacon chuckled.

"He's the baby isn't he?" She asked.

"He is the baby and he knows it." Deacon replied.

"That explains it then. It's always harder with the first one and the last one. You two are both doing great." She patted his shoulder.

"I sure hope so." Deacon sighed. A smile came to his face when he saw Jack playing with other kids.

* * *

Rhett pulled his truck up in front of an apartment building and got out. He walked up to one of the units on the ground floor and knocked on the door.

"Hold on I'm comin'." A voice came from the other side of the door.

Rhett checked his watch. "Not like I have anythin' else to do today."

"Rhett, what are you doin' here?" Paul opened door surprised to see his youngest son on the other side.

"I brought this for you." Rhett held up a baseball ticket.

"You brought me a ticket?" Paul questioned as he took the ticket from him.

"Yeah, I mean we are playin' game seven of the World Series here tonight. I thought that you might like to come." Rhett shrugged his shoulders. It didn't make any difference to him whether his father came or not. He was only asking because Sadie had made him.

"You've never asked me to come to any of your other games." Paul observed.

"You never asked to come either. As a matter of fact, you've never shown the least little bit of interest in me. The only reason I bothered to ask this time is it's a pretty big game and Sadie thought it would be nice if the only parent I have left was there." Rhett ran his hands over his face.

Paul walked away, but left the door open in an invitation for Rhett to come in. He rummaged around on his counter and picked something up. "I was there last night I think that may have been the pitchin' performance of your career. You put on clinic and you really helped your case at the plate." He took a binder off the shelf and opened it. "I've been to as many of your home games as I could make. I always mark on the back of the ticket what position you played that day, your battin' stats, and whether you won or lost the game. So you may have never asked me to show up, but I have been showin' up since you were playin' Triple A ball."

"Paul, I had no idea. I just always thought that you didn't give a damn. I mean you've given me every reason to think that. You weren't there when I was born, you weren't there when I was growin' up, and you weren't there when I was sittin' in a hospital room holdin' my dyin' momma's hand. So forgive me if I wasn't gonna ask you to stand beside the man my momma raised and share in the glory after she'd done all the hard work." Rhett spit back.

"I've told you that I wouldn't have been 'round for you anyway. I was in prison. I was a backwards fucked up man then I wouldn't have been no good to you. Your brother made peace with me a long time ago and I did worse to him. I ignored you and you should be grateful for that. I never had a chance to taint you with my poison. I ain't sayin' it makes what I did right. I'm just sayin' that you were better off for it. Look at your brother and sister and everythin' that they struggled with 'cause of what I'd done to 'em. I ain't tryin' to take credit that ain't mine. I ain't even sayin' that I deserve a chance with you. I'm just sayin' that it's my name you have and my blood that flows through you and your children not Lamar Wyatt's. The way he parades you out to everyone you'd think he'd had somethin' to do with makin' ya. Or worse he thinks of you as his prized possession." Paul gave him an impassioned speech.

"We both know what you meant by the last part of that and I'm gonna pretend like you didn't just compare me to a slave. Is that what you thought of my mother? Did you have a Thomas Jefferson Sally Hemmings attraction to her? That man has treated me more like his son than you ever have. I want you to come to the game tonight, Paul. And I want you to sit with the family not all the way up in the nosebleeds by yourself. For whatever reason my kids love you. That's just gonna have to be enough for you." Rhett crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll be there." Paul assured him.

* * *

"There you are. How did preschool drop off go today?" Rayna greeted Deacon with a chaste kiss when he walked into the office.

"You don't see him here with me so it went well. He didn't want to stay at first, but I got him talked into it." Deacon replied.

"This is why I can't drop him off at preschool. He almost never stays for me. He wears me down and I just bring him back." Rayna put her arm around his waist.

"Baby, you can't take him to preschool because it's traumatic for you. I get him to man up a little bit and you coddle him." Deacon laughed a little.

"Deacon, he's a baby boy he's not a man. And you baby him just as much as I do." Rayna slapped his chest playfully.

"I ain't gonna deny that I baby him. He's the baby of course I do. I just ain't as bad 'bout it as you are." Deacon laughed harder. "Keep your hands to yourself, Ray. You're the one that's always tellin' Charlie that she can't beat up on her brothers."

"Like I don't know that she knocks the hell out of them as soon as my back is turn. Sometimes they deserve it, because they are just like you and you deserve it sometimes too." Rayna arched her eyebrow at him.

"You're so mean to me and those two big boys when you want to be." Deacon shook his head at her.

"I'm so mean to you. I obviously didn't wake you up in the middle of the night for sex." Rayna countered.

"I didn't say that you were mean to me all the time." Deacon grinned.

"Put that grin away. I don't have time for where that grin leads. I need to get into the studio with Jimmy if he ever bothers to show up today." Rayna was starting to get a little worried. JC should have been there already.

"He's probably still sleepin'. I'll call Maddie and have her go by and check on him." Deacon pulled out his phone.

"Thanks, babe." Rayna pecked his lips.

* * *

Maddie let herself into the bunk house. She was a little surprised that JC hadn't locked the door. He was normally obsessive about that kind of thing. She found an almost empty whiskey bottle sitting on a table.

"Well, that might have something to do with why he isn't awake yet." She commented to herself.

JC lay in bed tossing and turning. Every now and then he would mumble something. It looked like he was fighting with someone.

Maddie shook him gently. "JC, come on wake up."

JC only thrashed around harder. "No, no, let me go I gotta get to 'em."

"Jimmy, wake up you're having a bad dream." Maddie couldn't make any sense out of what he was saying.

JC sat up panting hard. He was covered with sweat. He looked over at Maddie and groaned. That was the last thing he'd wanted her or anyone else to see. "What are you doin' here?"

"Mom and dad sent me to wake you up. You were supposed to meet mom at the office and she got worried when you didn't show up." Maddie explained to him.

"Shit, I just overslept. I'll get up and get ready. I'll call her and tell her that I'm on my way. I'm sorry that you had to come out here to get me." JC got up out of bed.

"This is more than you just overslept. I saw the bottle of whiskey. And you looked like you were having one hell of a nightmare when I came in here." Maddie called him on his bullshit.

"That was nothin'. I'm fine, Maddie." JC pulled on jeans and a t-shirt.

"I don't believe that for a second, Jimmy. I think you're full of shit. There is something going on with you. You are different than you were when you left for this deployment. I don't know what happened to you over there, but I know that it isn't going to get any better unless you talk about it. You say that you want to be with me and that you love me. If that were true you would open up to me about this. I can't be with someone who won't trust me enough to tell me what's going on." Maddie stared him down.

"There's nothin' wrong. You're readin' into somethin' that isn't there. I'm fine I'm still the same guy I've always been." JC denied that there was anything going on with him.

"Jesus, JC, I love you. Why won't you just tell me what's going on with you?" Maddie yelled at him.

"Because if I told you, hell if I told anyone you wouldn't want me 'round anymore. Much less 'round any of these kids." JC let more slip than he had meant to.

"You are crazy if you think that. There is absolutely nothing that can be further from the truth. I don't know what's going through your head right now, but talk to someone. You won't talk about what happened to your side and you won't talk about what happened to you over there. I'm not stupid enough to think that the two aren't connected though." Maddie sighed. When she thought she was making progress with him she took another step backwards.

"Maddie, as much as I would like to sit around and continue to discuss this with you. I have to go meet your momma before she makes my life hell. Besides, I've gotta be out of the studio in time to get ready for the game tonight. You're comin' right?" JC replied.

"Of course I'm coming. Rhett would give me a guilt trip for the rest of my life if I didn't show up tonight." Maddie was puzzled by the change in his demeanor. He had gone from being rattled to acting normal.

"Ok, I'll see you then. But I really gotta go now." JC told her.

"Alright, I'll see you later." Maddie ran her hands over her face. He was utterly infuriating.

"That's my Army t-shirt you're wearin' by the way." JC added before he left.

Maddie rolled her eyes as she watched him walk away. "No shit, JC? Who the hell else does he think this shirt belonged to?" She muttered to herself.

* * *

" _Hungover and hard up broken down and messed up. I never saw your leavin' comin' but I sure felt it when ya left. Memory button stuck on repeat. Mind skippin' like a record machine. Over and over that goodbye scene keeps spinnin' in my head. It keeps hauntin' me and there ain't no about it. The hurt keeps callin' me come on out we got you surrounded. Yeah the bottle in my hand is loaded and I ain't afraid to use it tonight."_ JC was in the studio recording a new song.

"Good God I swear that boy sounds like me 'bout ten years ago." Deacon commented.

"Our daughter sure did a number on him." Rayna agreed.

" _Hungover and hard up pain hurts whiskey's tough. And too much ain't ever enough to break through your space. Livin' in a lost and found. Round and round up and down. I'm tired of this seesaw merry-go-round so Mary you can go to hell. All I wanna do is just get on down the highway and I'll be there as soon as I get on out of my way. Yeah the truth is like a hangman's noose and it's holdin' my heart up tonight."_ Those lyrics fit the situation he currently found himself in perfectly.

"He may have used the name Mary, but I heard Maddie go to hell just now." Deacon observed.

"I heard it too, babe. That boy is in a lot of pain. I don't even wanna know what's goin' on with those two right now." Rayna shook her head.

" _Hungover and hard up I tried it all well now what? I've given everythin' but up and up's goin' down the drain. Just when I thought the coast was clear you're cloudin' up my atmosphere. That mornin' sun's waitin' there when I wake up. Hungover and hard up."_ JC finished the song and put his headphones around his neck.

"Soundin' good in there, Jimmy." Deacon pressed the intercom button.

"He sounds like a man with a broken heart, but that song is pretty damn great." Rayna corrected him.

"Ray, we can't get involved. You know how our daughter is. If we try to give her advice she's gonna do the opposite." Deacon reminded her.

"I know what she's like. I just know that she ain't gonna find her happiness with anyone, but him." Rayna leaned against his side.

"They ain't over by a long shot. We just gotta give them a chance to work it out 'fore we lock 'em in a room together." Deacon chuckled lightly.

"Deacon, don't give me any ideas." Rayna was only half joking. "And you can get out of this studio. It's my turn to produce him. I don't need you to baby sit."

"You are so sassy today. I really love it." Deacon kissed her.

* * *

"Thank God that this is the last game of the season." Sadie commented to Rayna as they sat in their usual seats at the stadium.

"Bein' a baseball wife not all it's cracked up to be?" Rayna laughed at her.

"I love him and I get that this is his passion. I just worry that one of these days he's gonna cripple himself for life." Sadie replied.

"He's in good shape. I've seen his latest physical and he is strong and healthy. You have nothing to be worried about right now." Rayna reassured her.

"I know that. He's my husband and the father of my children. I worry when there is no reason for me to worry about him. I know that he is still young and in good shape, but I know that this game puts a lot of wear and tear on the body." Sadie reasoned.

"When he doesn't have any juice left you'll know." Rayna told her.

"I will also be glad for this season to be over so he can get rid of the playoff beard. It's like bein' married to a lumberjack." Sadie changed the subject.

"The playoff beard ain't goin' anywhere. You know that next month is no shave November." Rayna teased her.

"Don't remind me. Grizzly Adams is gonna be escorting me to the CMAs. It's not so bad once he gets it grown out and it's soft, but when he first starts growin' it out it's scratchy." Sadie wrinkled up her nose.

"I must be immune to it by now. Deacon is always scruffy, but if he shaves and then grows the stubble back out I notice the difference." Rayna agreed with her.

"Sadie, do not mock the all-powerful tradition of the playoff beard. There is power in the beard don't question it." Mack walked up with Will. He was carrying their daughter on his shoulders while Will had their son.

"Don't get him started." Will begged.

"Oh my goodness. I say it all the time, but I swear you two were put on this earth to have a daughter. Ya'll always have her outfits coordinated. If I leave baby girl alone with Rhett there is no tellin' how I'm gonna come home to her bein' dressed." Sadie gushed over Lacey.

"Don't give Will any credit. The only reason Lacey is dressed decently when I'm away is because I have all her outfits matched up. He likes to dress her like a little homeless cowgirl." Mack laughed.

"At least she's dressed." Will shrugged his shoulders.

"That right there is Deacon Man Wisdom if I've ever heard it." Rayna threw out there.

"I let Charlie pick out her own clothes. Ray, you're just gonna have to accept the fact that we got us a little tomboy and deal with it." Deacon defended himself.

"I was more referring to the way you don't really know how to fix her hair." Rayna corrected him.

"We manage just fine and sometimes we call one of her sisters to do it for us." Deacon replied nonchalantly.

"I know all about you callin' her sisters for help. Maddie called me one day and said 'Mom you should see what dad did to this poor girl's hair.' She then proceeds to text me a picture and it was as bad as she made it out to be." Rayna loved her husband, but his skills with certain things left a lot to be desired.

"It was that horrible. I had half a mind to take her over to my place and let her stay with me until you got back home." Maddie and Colt came and sat down.

"I don't think he's gonna repeat that mistake beings that he's still hearin' 'bout it years later." June spoke up.

"Mawmaw, you don't always have to defend him. He's a big boy he can defend himself. Even though there is no defense for letting your daughter's hair look like a rat's nest." Maddie went on.

"Ray, you know I don't think you take a big enough cut out of Maddie's royalty checks. I think she owes us for free room and board anytime anywhere she wants it." Deacon joked.

"Ok, don't get crazy ya'll. I don't wanna have to chaperone one of your rounds right now." Rayna laughed at them.

"Maddie, he's like the master of dad humor you won't win against him." Colt advised her.

"No, the master of corny jokes just walked over." Maddie gestured to Paul.

"Hi, Pa!" Paul's younger grandchildren mobbed him with hugs.

"Look at all you so excited to see me." Paul hugged and kissed them all.

"Rhett actually gave him a ticket?" Deacon whispered.

"He did. It was a hard fought battle and you don't want to know what I had to promise him, but it involves me wearin' his game jersey." Sadie shuddered at the thought.

"You're a good woman, Little Sister." Deacon chuckled.

"Thanks, Big Brother." Sadie shook her head at him.

"Rayna, you know that daddy has requested the presence of all these ankle biters to show them off." Tandy reminded her sister.

"I remember. I'll send them up to his box after they do the lineup and the National Anthem." Rayna replied.

JC had been tapped to perform the National Anthem. He was dressed in his Army uniform. He joined the others up in the stands after he changed clothes.

"Jimmy, that was awesome." Deac rushed to him.

"That was so cool." Jayme agreed with his brother.

"You look so good in your uniform." Charlie hugged him around the waist.

"Catch me, Jimmy." Jack jumped into his arms.

"Hey, ya'll." JC laughed. He caught Jack easily. He seemed kind of uncomfortable with all the attention they were paying to him.

"Momma, can Jimmy take us up to pawpaw's box?" Deac asked. He'd been around JC since he was born and he was very close to him.

"I didn't realize that you were so popular with the kids, Jimmy." Daphne teased him.

"They love me and you know you adore me." JC joked back with her.

"That's up to Jimmy." Rayna replied.

"I don't mind takin' 'em." JC couldn't come up with a good excuse as to why he couldn't walk them up there.

"Ya'll mind Jimmy. There is only one of him and you outnumber him." Deacon laid down the law with them.

"I'll give you a hand, JC." Will said after he and Maddie exchanged a look. Lamar had sort of adopted his two kids as his grandchildren as well.

"Will, be a doll and herd my munchkins up there too." Sadie gave him a sweet smile.

"You've got it." Will flashed a grin at her.

"June, you better move down here where he can see you. You know how superstitious he is when he's pitching." Sadie patted the spot next to her.

"I know how he is." June moved next to her.

"He once made me sit here for three days in a row in God awful heat wearing the same t-shirt because he thought it was curing his hitting slump." Gunnar threw out there.

"I'm pretty sure that may have been just to see if he could get you to give into his ridiculous demands." Scarlett kissed his cheek.

The manager for the Rivermen walked out to the pitcher's mound in the top of the ninth inning.

"Claybourne, you've got one out and runners on the corners. You good for those next two outs or are you done?" He asked him.

Rhett brought his forearm up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I'm done on the mound. The big bats are comin' up. Up to you, coach, but I think the place for me is the outfield right now."

"I agree. That was the plan all along. Give me the ball, son. I'll have them bring you your fielder's glove." He held his hand out for the ball. And signaled with his other hand for them to bring Rhett's other glove.

Rhett put the ball into his hand and took his glove off. He traded off with the batboy. He trotted out into the outfield. He passed the closing pitcher and nodded his head at him.

"That's it! Come on, baby, you've got this!" Sadie whooped.

"Hey, old man, you sure that you don't want them to bring you some oxygen?" One of the other outfielders asked him.

"I just pitched for nine and a third innings and I'm still goin' strong. Watch and learn young'un and be sure to stay outta my way." Rhett shot back.

Play resumed after the pitcher had warmed up. He threw a grand total of three pitches before the batter hammered it all the way out to the warning track on Rhett's side of the field.

Rhett ran back and pulled the ball back in from over the wall. Instead of throwing the ball to his cutoff man he threw it to the catcher. It was a tight play at the plate, but the runner was called out. He jumped up with arms in the air.

"That is how you play, old man!" The younger player jumped up on him.

They ran into the infield and Rhett was mobbed by the other players. He took a moment to celebrate with his team before he climbed up on top of the dugout and kissed his wife.

"You did it, baby." Sadie smiled at him.

"We did it. Tiny Tim, Gracie Rose, come to daddy." Rhett picked up his son and daughter and set them on their feet. "Come here, Wyatt." He put his youngest son up on his shoulders and ran around the field with him up there.

"Claybourne, they want you up on the podium. Grab your family." The manager told him.

Rhett got his family to join him down on the field.

"This year's World Series MVP award goes to Rhett Claybourne." Jeff was handling this portion. He handed him a trophy and the keys to a brand new Camaro.

"I'm proud of you." Paul told him.

"Thanks, Paul." Rhett nodded in his direction.

"You did a great job, sweetie." June kissed both his cheeks.

A reporter came over and stuck a camera in Rhett's face. "Rhett, why don't you introduce us to your family."

"This is my father Paul Claybourne." Rhett pointed at Paul. "And this is the woman I'm lucky enough to have as my second momma, June Claybourne. Ya'll need to head into the Mile Marker and see her sometime." He put his arm around June. "Everyone is familiar with my gorgeous wife, Sadie Stone." His chest puffed out with pride.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Colt, do you wanna tell me what the hell is wrong with you? I already have one guy being all broody I don't need another." Maddie asked him when they got back to her apartment.

"It's just that your brothers and sister haven't taken to me the way they did to Grayson. They still go rushing right to him and they barely talk to me." Colt admitted. He knew how childish he sounded.

"They have been around Jimmy their whole lives. They just adore him and they are used to him. You have to give them a chance to warm up to you." Maddie reassured him.

"While we're at it I'm really not crazy about the fact that he lives on your mom and dad's property. He's your ex." Colt figured he might as well get it all out as long as he was on the subject.

"There is nothing that even I can do about that. He is their godson. As far as they are concerned he's family and they aren't gonna throw him out flat on his face. It's something that we are both gonna have to deal with." Maddie shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what else to tell him on the matter.

"Your uncle is one hell of a baseball player isn't he?" Colt changed the subject when he saw that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Maddie.

"Yeah, he's pretty damn good." Maddie answered him.

"I was never really a sports guy outside of lacrosse." Colt replied.

"Colt, I've got things to do tomorrow. I should probably get some sleep. I'm up way past my bedtime and I'm gonna feel it in the morning." Maddie told him.

"Does that mean you're not willing to entertain the thought of doing something fun before bed?" Colt smirked at her.

"Colt, I'm going to sleep and you are going home. We had this talk, remember? We are dating we aren't doing the serious relationship thing. That means you don't stay the night." Maddie pointed towards the door.

"I hear you I'm going. Just so you know I plan to wear you down on this rule soon." Colt pecked her lips before he walked out.

Maddie put her hands over her face and sighed. She just wanted to move on and be happy. The only thing was she wasn't sure that she would find that happiness with Colt. Not when everything in her was trying to pull her back to JC.

She went to lock the door, but there was a knock. She contemplated pretending to be asleep just in case it was Colt.

"Maddie, open up, it's me." Daphne's voice came from the other side of the door.

Maddie opened the door without hesitation. "Come on in, Daph, what's up?"

"I just really need to talk to my sister." Daphne replied.

"I'm glad you're here. I need my sister too." Maddie smiled at her.

"This chat requires alcohol." Daphne smiled back.

"I have wine, beer, vodka, and whiskey and probably all kinda other stuff. I don't really recommend the beer, because it's Jimmy's beer and some of it is gross. Why don't you tell me what this talk is about so I can choose the appropriate drink?" Maddie went into the kitchen.

"Boys," Daphne answered with a sigh.

"In that case I'll get the whiskey. You can put some decent music on." Maddie grabbed two glasses and poured two fingers of whiskey into both.

Daphne grabbed the remote for the stereo and turned it on. "This talk requires classic country. My dog died, my woman left me, and I got drunk songs."

"Oh damn, you're really in the weeds. Tell me what's going on with you." Maddie carried their drinks into the living room.

"If I tell you this do you swear not to tell mom or dad? You especially can't tell dad he will be super pissed. You know what his temper is like, Maddie. I don't want him to go to jail." Daphne needed her sister's word that she wouldn't say anything.

"Daph, I've never ratted you out even when I probably should. You have my word that I'm not gonna tell mom or dad." Maddie handed Daphne's drink to her.

"So, you're gonna judge me for this and you have every right to. You can also tell me how stupid I am. I'm just gonna say it. I had a thing with Jeff and that's over now, but it happened." Daphne took a gulp of her drink.

"Jeff who?" Maddie sipped her drink.

"Fordham," Daphne's voice was barely above a whisper.

Maddie choked on her drink. "Forget dad's temper for a minute if mom ever finds out about this she will kill him. My God, Daph, what the hell were you thinking? This has the potential to turn really ugly. Pawpaw will fire his ass and possibly have him killed if he finds out. I don't even know what to say to you right now."

"I don't know, alright? It was stupid and I know it was, but I did it anyway." Daphne replied.

"Damn right it was stupid. Do you not remember the way he was with Layla? He had her so twisted up that she just walked away and finally went to Harvard. He's old enough to be your father. Not to mention he's always on again off again with whoever is stupid enough to marry him. He marries the way most people date. Is this some kind of daddy issues thing that you have because of Teddy? If this is you needing to work through those issues I'm sure I can get Casey to buy you a stripper pole to dance on at parties or something." Maddie ranted.

"It wasn't even like that, Maddie. My whole life I have been the responsible good one. You are the impulsive and at times careless one. So for once I decided to do something even though I knew that I shouldn't be doing it. It felt good to let loose." Daphne took another healthy swallow of her whiskey.

Maddie couldn't disagree with her sister's characterization of her. "Please don't tell me that you were stupid enough to develop actual feelings for him, Daph. That man is poison to every woman he gets involved with."

"Of course not and he went back to his wife so it's just as well. I just needed to get that off my chest finally." Daphne felt better now that she had told someone.

"I can't go on tour without you anymore. You get into too much trouble without me here to talk to. Though I suppose this was bound to happen with everything that Teddy did." Maddie snorted.

"Maddie, when are you gonna make peace with him?" Daphne asked her.

"When he decides to behave the way he should. Then maybe I will consider it. That is not the man I want to talk about anyway." Maddie quickly changed the subject.

"The solution to your problem is simple. We all know that you're in love with Jimmy. You don't really want to be with Colt you're just using him to get Jimmy to blink first." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, small wise one. Where was all this wisdom when you decided to sleep with Jeff Fordham? My God, Daph, that's something I expect outta Casey. She has a long history of falling for inappropriate men. You're way smarter than she is and you've had a much better support system than she ever did. We need to find you an age appropriate boyfriend." Maddie shook her head.

"Yeah, I know." Daphne agreed with her. "But, don't deflect, this isn't about me anymore. This is about you and Jimmy. Don't be mom don't deny yourself the one thing that will make you happy."

"Daph, it's a lot more complicated than that." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"Maddie, you could make it easy if you really wanted to." Daphne arched her eyebrow.

* * *

"Babe, I know that you have things to do today and they are important, but I really need you here to talk to this artist with me." Rayna stuck her head into Deacon's office.

"You want me here because you know how charmin' I am and I can seal the deal." Deacon grinned at her.

"Oh, I see the angle you're workin'. You wantin' a little lovin' in exchange for helpin' me sign this artist." Rayna arched her eyebrow at him.

"Well, since I'm supposed to be meetin' up with my brother this afternoon for our charity I need somethin' to make this worth my while." Deacon retorted. He and Rhett had started a charity for underprivileged children since they had both grown up poor.

"You can send one of your girls in your stead. I know that you two are having an event at the youth center today. I think you can get out of being there." Rayna batted her eyelashes at him.

"Ok, ok, enough, woman. I'll stay and help you do this. Let me give Daphne a call and she can go stand in for me. I don't have to be there today I just like to drop in every so often and see how things are going." Deacon agreed.

"I promise to make this worth your while later." Rayna blew him a kiss.

"You better make it worth my while." Deacon grumbled playfully.

"Darlin' you know that I always deliver." Rayna laughed at him.

"I ain't got no complaints 'bout you in that department." Deacon winked.

"You better not. And if you do you only have yourself to blame. You're the one who taught me about sex after all." Rayna pointed out to him.

"I was a damn good teacher and you were a damn good student." Deacon replied.

Rayna walked over and sat in his lap. She picked up the picture on his desk of them and their kids from last Christmas. "Wow, look at what that got us. I couldn't imagine my life without the six of them. Those four little ones may make it hectic sometimes, but they are worth it. Daphne is an absolute joy. And Maddie I think that girl is always gonna give us something to worry about."

"Them four little ones are somethin' else. Daphne is always gonna be our sunshine girl. I can't believe that she's goin' on twenty-two now. Maddie takes a lot more after me than I would have liked. She's still just tryin' to find her place in life and what she needs to be happy. She'll settle down sooner or later. I just hope it don't take her as long as it took me." Deacon took the picture from her and smiled before he sat it back down on his desk.

Rayna picked up their wedding picture. "Can you believe that it's almost been ten years?"

"We look so damn happy there and we didn't even know that the best part was yet to come. Darlin', sometimes it feels like it's been forever and no time at all. I thank God for every day I get to wake up with you beside me. I don't know how I made it so many years without you." Deacon kissed her head.

"I wonder the same thing about myself sometimes. You do so much for me that I don't know how I lived without you. You're just 'bout the best damn house husband that any woman could ask for." Rayna teased him.

"Damn right I am and don't you forget it. I cook, clean, help with homework, I don't mean to brag, but I can change a diaper like nobody's business." Deacon grinned.

"Those diaper years are behind us thank God. They are all gettin' bigger faster than I would have hoped. Our baby is gonna be five at his next birthday. That just blows me away. Like you said it feels like we've been together forever, but that ain't been long enough." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'll gladly take another fifty years of more of the same with you." Deacon leaned in and captured her lips with his.

"I think I can agree to that." Rayna smiled up at him.

"Good, 'cause you didn't have much of a choice. Now that I finally got you I ain't never lettin' go." Deacon told her.

* * *

"Hey, thanks for meeting me here." Maddie was sitting on the couch in the living room of Deacon's house in East Nashville. Since all the former occupants had moved out it was now used for artists that wanted to write somewhere other than the office.

"No problem, I'd do anythin' for you, you know that." JC had just walked in the door. He took his guitar out of the case and sat down.

"I need to do some writing for the new album I want to put out, but I keep running into a brick wall. You have always brought out the best in me and I figured I'd better go with the proven method." Maddie replied.

"That works for me. I've really missed writin' with you. It was one of things I missed the most while I was away. This ain't gonna get you in hot water with Colt is it?" JC ran his hand over the top of his head. His hair had started to grow out a little bit.

"Jimmy, when has whether or not I'm gonna get in trouble made a difference to me when it comes to doing what I want? I've really missed writing with you too. I don't know if I've said this yet or not, but I'm sorry for the way I ended things we both deserved better." Maddie cracked a small smile.

"I just don't wanna cause you any trouble. That's a good point though you do what you want and pay the piper later if you have to. Thanks for sayin' it. I guess in time I may get over you." JC rubbed his palms on the knees of his jeans.

"He doesn't own me he doesn't get to tell me who I can and can't talk to. You know dad says I learn my lessons the hard way just like he does. You better pine over me for a long time." Maddie made a weak joke.

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to go on without you." JC clutched his chest like his heart was breaking.

"That's more like it. You know there's no getting over me." Maddie laughed at him.

"You were the best thing to ever happen to me and I will spend the rest of my life wonderin' what went wrong. No other woman will ever compare to you, Cricket." JC laid it on thicker and heavier as he went.

"Oh, shut up." Maddie pushed his shoulder playfully.

"What kind of song do you want to write, queen of my heart?" JC gave her a goofy grin.

"At least you know that I'm royalty." Maddie rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'm not really sure what kind of sound I want to go for yet. I was hoping that we could just freestyle like we used to and go from there."

"That is totally doable just like you." JC smirked at her sexily.

"Don't you dare try to drag me down that rabbit hole with you, James. That particular thing we do together can't happen right now. You said that you won't make me a cheater so don't. It wouldn't take much for me to forget about him." Maddie warned him.

"Then call him and tell him it's over." JC countered.

"Give me a reason to." Maddie shot back.

"Maddie, I'm the man who loves you more than any other man will ever be able to. Why isn't that enough for you? The only thing I can't do for you is not love you." JC reasoned with her.

"I believe you when you say that, but you don't exactly show it. If you loved me as much as you say you do you'd be able to open up to me and tell me what happened to change you." Maddie told him.

"What do you want me to say? I happen to think that you should just take a chance and have a little faith in me." JC crossed his arms.

"JC, I don't wanna fight with you. I want to help you. I can't do that if you won't talk to me." Maddie stressed to him.

"Let's just write a song, Maddie. I don't want to talk 'bout it. Can you please understand that?" JC only wanted her to believe in him.

"Alright, if you don't wanna talk we will write." Maddie sighed deeply.

* * *

Daphne showed up to The Claybourne Brother's Center For Disadvantaged Youth for the event that Deacon had roped her into. She found it mighty funny that Maddie as usual was able to get out of this type of thing while she had to go along with it. Like always her sister got to do as she pleased while she played the part of the dutiful daughter. She loved Maddie to death, but she could be the definition of self-centered sometimes.

"Hey, Daph, thanks for comin' out on short notice." Rhett pulled her into a hug.

"Of course I came. You know mom she talked dad into doing something for her." Daphne hugged him back.

"Rayna wields all kinda power over my brother. You're not tellin' me anythin' that I don't know. Don't worry you don't have to make any speeches or anythin' like that today. You just have to be here. Pose for some pictures with the kids and sign some autographs." Rhett told her.

"That sounds really good to me. Dad didn't exactly give me all the details when he called me in to do this." Daphne breathed a sigh of relief.

"He has a way of talking everyone into things too." Rhett chuckled. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the other people I got to show up today." He led her away.

"Daph, I didn't expect to see you here today." Mack said brightly.

"Hey, Mack." Daphne smiled at him.

"You know Mack of course. He's like a bad case of the plague he just won't go away. But he was kind enough to come volunteer his time today, so I can't talk too badly 'bout him." Rhett joked around with his friend.

"Bite me, Rhett." Mack flipped him off.

Rhett chose to ignore that gesture. "Daphne, this is Joel Preston the quarterback for the Titans." He pointed to a tall muscular man with deep blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. "Joel, this is my niece Daphne Claybourne."

"It's nice to meet you." Joel smiled at Daphne charmingly. He was in his early twenties at the oldest.

"It's nice to meet you too." Daphne smiled back. It was hard for her to keep her cool his smile had flustered her a little bit. She couldn't go there she was taking a time out from men she made poor decisions where they were concerned.

"Not to sound too forward or anythin', but you have a gorgeous smile." Joel flirted with her. He had a deep voice with a thick southern accent.

"Thanks, you do too." Daphne blushed when he kissed her hand.

"Rhett, I think our little Daphne likes the rough around the edges football player." Mack whispered.

"She needs somethin' after her disastrous relationships in the past. Good lord that girl has worse luck with men than a cat in a room full of rockin' chairs." Rhett whispered back.

"He's a good sturdy southern boy looks like the type that would treat her right." Mack observed.

"We are worse than women 'bout this. I swear I've been 'round my wife too long." Rhett shook his head. He couldn't believe some of the conversations that he engaged in sometimes.

"As Will likes to say there are times when I could be considered the bitch in our relationship." Mack shrugged. He took everything his husband said with a grain of salt.

"What are you two over there talking about?" Daphne eyed them suspiciously.

"You know us well enough to know that you don't want to know." Rhett made a very valid point.

"Joel, I don't know how well you know those two, but I feel like I should apologize to you for their behavior." Daphne didn't even bother to pursue that line of questioning any further.

"They are pretty alright guys from what I've seen. We are all the captains of our teams so we have to see each other a lot for media appearances and stuff like that." Joel replied.

"You only say that because you don't know them that well." Daphne informed him.

"Hey now, is that any way to talk 'bout your favorite uncle?" Rhett pretended to be hurt.

"Uncle Bucky is my favorite. I only tolerate you because I feel sorry for Sadie being stuck with you." Daphne corrected him.

"Damn, she sounded just like Maddie. We already have one of her we don't need another one." Mack's eyes got wide. He loved Maddie, but she could be a little much to handle sometimes.

"I know. We really oughta monitor how much alone time she spends with her sister." Rhett agreed.

"Ok, that is enough out of both of you." Daphne called them down.

"I do believe ya'll have just been told." Joel laughed heartily. His laugh came from deep in his chest and it sounded like a rumble of thunder.

"Thank you, Joel. It's nice to know that someone is on my side." Daphne rewarded him with the flash of a smile.

* * *

"What is going on in here?" Maddie walked into the living room of her parents' house to find them both sitting on the floor helping the twins with something.

"We are helping the boys with a history project. They are studying the civil war and they each had to pick a battle to recreate. Jayme and I are working on the Battle of Nashville while Deacon and Deac are working on the Battle of Vicksburg. Your sister is doing her math homework quietly like the angel that she is. And Jack as you can see is laying with Elvis watching tv." Rayna explained to her.

"You sound like you are having a lot of fun." Maddie tried her hardest not to laugh.

"We are just havin' boatloads of fun here. I will never understand why teachers have to assign so much damn homework." Deacon grumbled.

"Neither do I. I always hated school for a reason." Maddie sat down on the couch.

"Maddie, you hated everything about school it wasn't just the homework." Rayna gave her a look.

"I did. I still don't know why I let you people talk me into going to college. It was just school with a more expensive price tag. I had to pay for the right to do homework." Maddie rolled her eyes. She had gone to Belmont University and majored in music.

"But we are so proud of our college graduate." Deacon winked at her.

"Thanks, daddy." Maddie gave him a sweet smile. She checked her phone when it buzzed and typed out a quick text.

"We are very proud. I'm a little surprised that you stayed with it. I didn't know until after you graduated that your father gave you an out." Rayna glared at her husband.

"The only way he got me to go was by telling me if after a year I still didn't like it I could quit." Maddie admitted.

"Daddy, can you make me a deal like that?" Jayme asked him.

"I think that's somethin' we can talk 'bout after high school. You still got awhile to go, Rebel." Deacon reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Ah man, daddy, you're gonna mess my hair up." Jayme complained.

"I don't see why you don't like school, Jayme. It's fun. We get to see our friends and stuff." Deac told his brother.

"I ain't a nerd like you." Jayme told him.

"I ain't a nerd either. Take it back. Daddy, make him take it back." Deac got mad.

"What are you donna do if I don't?" Jayme egged him on.

"Deacon John and Jaymes Wyatt both of you knock it off right now." Rayna scolded them.

"I didn't even do anythin', momma, Jayme started it." Deac crossed his arms over his chest.

"Freakin' Deacon," Maddie laughed.

"Madison Miranda, don't you call him that." Rayna snapped her fingers at her.

"Maddie, you get in trouble more than any of us." Charlie observed.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Charlie." Maddie tickled her sides.

"Maddie gets in trouble more than I do." Jack chimed in with his cute little voice.

"Oh, Jackie Bear, everyone gets into more trouble than you do. You're momma's baby and she won't let anyone get on to you." Maddie stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"Hey, ya'll, I hope you don't mind if I interrupt, but I need to talk to Maddie." JC walked in the side door. He'd had been the person who texted her.

"Jimmy!" All the kids yelled out excitedly.

"Hi, guys. It looks like it's homework time for you. Is it ok if I borrow your big sister?" JC gave them a half smile.

"Swing me, Jimmy." Jack ran and held his arms up to him.

"Ok, I think I can do that for you one time." JC picked him up by his hands and let him swing back and forth like a little monkey. He tossed him up the air and caught him. "Alright, now you go be good, Jack Henry." He got rid of him as fast as humanly possible.

"Ok, Jimmy." Jack scampered off.

"Jimmy, are you gonna sight in guns with us this weekend?" Deac asked him excitedly. He was a little outdoorsman just like his father.

"If I have time I will." JC didn't want to commit one way or the other.

"Are you gonna come to our football game on Saturday morning?" Jayme inquired.

"I think that I'll be able to make it. If not know that I'm really proud of you for makin' it to the playoffs." JC was dying inside. He wanted so badly to make them happy, but he didn't trust himself to be around them right now. The last time he'd been around kids he'd failed them.

"What did you need with me?" Maddie asked him. She was starting to get the hint that he was uncomfortable around kids for some reason.

"I just finished up that song that we were workin' on earlier. I think you'll like the way it turned out." JC held out a piece of paper to her.

"Thanks for working on it without me. I know that you have an album of your own that you're working on too." Maddie took the sheet of paper that he held out to her.

"It's no problem, Cricket. I better get goin' back to the bunk house, but I'll see you 'round." Jimmy turned on his heel to walk out the side door.

"Hey, did whatever it is you won't tell me about involve kids?" Maddie followed him out.

JC looked at her sadly over his shoulder. "Maddie, please. Don't make it any harder than it already is."

"Jimmy, I know you and whatever it was wasn't your fault. You can trust yourself around these kids. They love you so much and you're kidding yourself if you think they don't notice you're acting different. Any other time you would have spent hours entertaining Jack by letting him climb all over you, you would have been all excited about shooting guns with Deac and Jayme and going to their football game, and you would have spoken to Charlie. She thinks the world of you and I know that you feel the same way about her. When you want to talk I'm here." Maddie spoke her peace and walked back in the house.

"Maddie?" Charlie said her sister's name.

"Yes, Ms. Pistol?" Maddie asked her.

"Did I do somethin' to make Jimmy mad at me? Or does he not wanna be 'round us cause he ain't your boyfriend no more?" Charlie inquired.

"No of course not, Jimmy loves you very much. He will always love all of us so, so much. He's just not our Jimmy right now and I'm trying to figure out what's going on with him. Until he gets back to normal again we are going to need to be really gentle and understanding with him. Can you four do that for me? Can you show Jimmy how much you love him?" Maddie didn't know what else to do, but she knew if she could get him to see that those kids would love him no matter what it would help him.

"Yeah, we can do that." Deac spoke for them all since he was the oldest.

"For a woman that has a boyfriend you're mighty concerned with your ex." Deacon made an observation.

"Colt is not my boyfriend I'm just dating him." Maddie corrected him.

"Maddie, just step lightly here no matter what you do." Rayna advised her.

"I will, mom, I promise." Maddie assured her.

"Good. I don't wanna see you get hurt and I don't wanna see you miserable." Rayna gave her a smile in response. "Now, can you be useful and get in the floor and help us?"

"Sure, mom." Maddie laughed and got down in the floor with them.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I had to throw in some sisterly bonding with Maddie and Daphne it seems like we don't get enough of that. I also had to throw in a love interest for Daphne. Slowly but surely whatever JC is trying to hide is coming to the surface. Until next time please review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 6

"What in the world did I just walk into?" Maddie looked around the living room. All the women in her little extended family unit were in her mother's living room.

"Maddie, you know this is what we do the weekend before the CMAs while the guys go on their hunting trip." Rayna looked up from polishing her toes long enough to address her daughter.

"No, I did not know that you all sat around like this while guys go on their so called hunting trip. I say so called because it's really an excuse for Jimmy and Will to get drunk and play terrible pranks on Gunnar. Who I can't believe they take into the woods with them anyway." Maddie shook her head.

"They have been doin' this for years and they ain't lost him yet. Not even the time I offered Will money to lose him." Scarlett was painting her fingernails.

"Actually, I think the year you paid Will to lose him Jimmy had to go find him." Maddie laughed.

"Speakin' of Jimmy. How does it feel knowin' that Luke goes on that huntin' trip with them and he took Colt with him this year?" Juliette asked.

"I don't even want to think about it. That's how it feels. Jimmy is normally pretty good about behaving himself, but he hasn't been himself lately." Maddie sighed.

"It's not like he can get too out of hand. Rhett is there and he can probably pull him off of Colt if he starts beatin' the hell out of him." Sadie added helpfully.

"Sadie, that really, really doesn't help my state of mind." Maddie sat down on the couch.

"You wouldn't have this problem if you would just break up with the guy you don't want to be with." Daphne pointed out.

"Daphne, I have so much dirt on you." Maddie said in a warning tone.

"Don't you two start. We got the little ones upstairs behaving themselves. I will send ya'll out to the barn and make you entertain yourselves out there." Rayna gave them both a look. They may have been grown women, but she was still their mother and they knew better than to mess with her when she gave them that look.

A knock sounded on the door.

"It's open come on in!" Rayna yelled.

Mack rushed into the room with both his children in his arms. He had a diaper bag slung over one shoulder. "Thanks for doing this for me tonight, Rayna. My husband is off playing mountain man and I have a game. The nanny couldn't make it." He kissed both his kids and sat them down. "You two be good for your aunties. You're gonna have so much fun. Dada will be back for you later."

"It's no problem, Mack. It's not like havin' a couple more kids in the house is a big deal." Rayna assured him.

"Dada, I go with you." Lacey looked up at him with her big blue eyes. Both those kids were the spitting image of Will. He had fathered them both via surrogate.

"Lacey, you can't go with me, baby girl. Dada has to work. Come give me a big hug and kiss. I love you." Mack kneeled down in front of her.

Lacey wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "I go." She stuck out her bottom lip and started primping like she was going to cry.

"Oh no, don't make that face. Please don't make that face you're breaking my heart. Dada really has to go. He is gonna be so late." Mack kissed both her cheeks.

"Mack, just go. She will be fine." Maddie told him. "Lacey, come to Aunt Maddie." Maddie picked her up.

Mack bent down and kissed Billy's head. "Bye, Billy Boy, dada loves you and he will see you later." He ruffled his hair. "Maddie, is she ok?"

"She's gonna be fine, go." Maddie pointed to the door.

"I'll be back for them later. I really have to go. I'm gonna be late and then the coach is gonna fine my ass." Mack rushed back out the door.

"Lacey, let's go up to Aunt Daphne's room. She has all kinda clothes that you can play dress up in. You love that." Maddie cajoled the little girl.

"Maddie, do it and I murder you." Daphne glared at her.

"If I still had stuff here I'd offer to let her wear that." Maddie replied.

"Fine, but only because she is the sweetest little thing ever. Your problem is that you're not getting any." Daphne relented.

"And your problem is that you're getting it from the wrong places." Maddie retorted.

"I'm serious I will take you out." Daphne seethed.

"Daph, you love me." Maddie grinned at her.

"Sometimes only because you're my sister and I have no other choice." Daphne spit back.

"Didn't your mother just tell you two to behave?" Tandy asked them.

"Aunt Tandy, where do you think we learned how to bicker from? We had great role models with you and mom when it came to that." Maddie had a bit of a smart mouth that she had gotten from Deacon.

"Little Deacon," Rayna shook her head.

"Mom, you know I hate it when you call me that." Maddie groaned.

"Maddie, just take Billy into the music room with the little ones and take Lacey upstairs to play." Rayna ordered.

"Fine, mother." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I thought I'd heard the last of that smart mouth once she made it out of her teenage years." Rayna sighed.

"Rayna, you know better than that. You've remember how long Juliette was like that don't you?" Sadie asked her.

"Sadie, you can bite me." Juliette threw a cotton ball at her.

"No throwing things. I don't want to spill perfectly good wine trying to dodge you two." Tandy protested.

"You might want to see if Deacon can get you into a program." Juliette quipped.

"I don't know how I associate with you people." Scarlett muttered.

"Scarlett, who else would you have if you didn't have us?" Sadie posed a valid question.

"That's right I am stuck with ya'll since my momma and Frankie stay out on tour together all year round. I swear I don't know the last time I've seen either one of 'em." Scarlett said in resignation.

"Be thankful that she has that to keep her busy." Rayna told her.

"You don't hear my complainin' at all." Scarlett agreed on that point.

* * *

Maddie walked into the Mile Marker she was supposed to be meeting Colt there before their date. She sat down at the bar and waved the bartender over.

"You're a rum and coke right, Maddie?" The bartender asked her.

"That's right." Maddie smiled.

"Coming right up." He made her drink and slid it across the bar to her.

"Hey, pretty girl, what are you doin' here?" June walked out from the back and kissed her granddaughter's cheek.

"Hi, mawmaw. I'm meeting Colt here and we are gonna decide what we want to do tonight." Maddie replied.

"I'm glad because that gave me a chance to see you. You don't come see your old mawmaw near as often as you should, young lady." June mock scolded her.

"I know and I'm sorry. I have just been so super busy." Maddie made her excuses.

"I know you have. The important thing is that you come see me when you can." June reassured her.

"Where are you off to all dressed up?" Maddie asked her.

"Your grandfather has roped me into goin' to one of his business dinners. He's already tryin' to sign a new player and for whatever reason he needs me there. I'm his good luck charm or somethin' accordin' to him. I've been friends with him long enough that I've learned not to question his thought process." June shrugged her shoulders.

"If I didn't know any better I would swear that you two are more than just friends." Maddie teased her.

"Madison Miranda, if you don't want me to start in on your love life don't you start on mine which is nonexistent." June warned her.

"You broke out my full name I think I'll behave." Maddie laughed.

"You behave yourself tonight. I gotta get goin'. I love you." June blew her a kiss.

"I love you too, mawmaw." Maddie blew a kiss back to her. She took a sip of her drink and then she sat there looking at it like it held the meaning of life. She turned to look at the stage when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, ya'll, I know it's been awhile since I've played in here, but I'm back and I've got a new one for you tonight. Let me know what you think." JC was up on the stage with his electric guitar. He was using the house band to back him.

" _I can see you over there starin' at your drink watchin' that ice sink all alone tonight. And chances are you're sittin' here in this bar 'cause he ain't gonna treat you right. Well it's probably not my place but I'm gonna say it anyway 'cause you look like. You haven't felt that fire had a little fun hadn't had a smile in a little while, baby."_ JC launched into a bluesy number.

" _Blue looks good on the sky. Looks good on that neon buzzin' on the wall, but darlin' it don't match your eyes. I'm tellin' you, you don't need that guy. It's so black and white. He's stealin' your thunder. Baby, blue ain't your color."_ He closed his eyes as he sang.

Maddie's body tingled all over as she listened to the words that he sang. It was like he was inside her head. He may as well be. They had been together for so long he knew her inside and out.

" _I'm not tryin' to be another just pick you up kinda guy. Tryin' to drink you up tryin' to take you home. But I just don't understand how another man can take your sun and turn it ice cold. Well, I've had enough to drink and it's makin' think that I just might tell you. If I were a painter I wouldn't change ya I'd just paint you bright, baby."_ JC caught Maddie's eyes in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar and he held her stare for a moment.

" _Blue looks good on the sky. Looks good on that neon buzzin' on the wall, but darlin' it don't match your eyes. I'm tellin' you, you don't need that guy. It's so black and white. He's stealin' your thunder. Baby, blue ain't your color."_

Maddie looked away first before she stared too long and got lost in his deep brown eyes.

JC played a haunting guitar solo.

" _Blue looks good on the sky. Looks good on that neon buzzin' on the wall, but darlin', it don't match your eyes. I'm tellin' you, you don't need that guy. It's so black and white. He's stealin' your thunder. Baby, blue ain't your color. Blue ain't your color."_ JC wailed out the last line.

The whole bar erupted with applause when he was finished.

"Thank ya'll so much." JC took a little bow. He took his electric guitar off and swapped it out for his acoustic. "I'm gonna slow it down for now and take you back to my early years. Now, this song was originally written as a duet, but I think I can hold my own pretty good with it." He sat down on a stool and started picking his guitar.

" _Two days past eighteen he was waitin' for a bus in his Army greens. Sat down in a booth in a café there gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair."_ He was singing the song that had won him and Maddie their first CMA together.

Maddie reached behind the bar and grabbed the mic that they kept under there. She walked around to the side of the stage without JC seeing her.

" _He's a little shy so she gave him a smile and he said would you mind sittin' down for a while and_ _talkin' to me I'm feelin' a little low. She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go."_ JC kept singing. This wasn't his part of the song.

" _So, they went down and they sat on the pier. He said I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care. I got no one to send a letter to. Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?"_ Maddie took his normal part of the song as she walked out on stage.

JC's eyes lit up with a smile. _"I cried never gonna hold the hand of another guy. Too young for him they told her waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier. Our love will never end waitin' for the soldier to come back again. Never more to be alone when the letter says the soldier's comin' home."_ They sang the chorus together.

" _So the letters came from an army camp in California then Vietnam. And he told of his heart it might be lovin' all of the things he was so scared of."_ Maddie took her normal part.

" _He said when it's gettin' kinda rough over here I think of that day sittin' down on the pier. And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile. Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for a while."_ JC picked up.

" _I cried never gonna hold the hand of another guy. Too young for him they told her waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier. Our love will never end waitin' for the soldier to come back again. Never more to be alone when the letter says the soldier's comin' home."_

" _One Friday night at a football game the Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang. A man said folks would you bow you head for a list of local Vietnam dead."_ Maddie sang again.

" _Cryin' all alone under the stands was a piccolo player in the marchin' band and one name read and no one nobody really cared, but a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair."_ JC took over.

" _I cried never gonna hold the hand of another guy. Too young for him they told her waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier. Our love will never end waitin' for the soldier to come back again. Never more to be alone when the letter says the soldier's comin' home. I cried never gonna hold the hand of another guy. Too young for him they told her waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier. Our love will never end waitin' for the soldier to come back again. Never more to be alone when the letter says the soldier's comin' home."_

"Wow, that one was a blast from the past. The first CMA award I won was for that song. If I told you how many years ago that I was I'd be telling you my age." Maddie spoke to the crowd.

"You ain't as old as I am. I'm the one that song really puts a date on." JC laughed.

"You got one more song in you, old man?" Maddie teased him.

"I'm good for more than one. You oughta know that better than anyone." JC retorted. He handed her a guitar.

"Why can't you behave yourself like a good ex?" Maddie put the guitar strap around her neck.

"Now you know I don't behave." JC winked at her as he started playing a tune.

Maddie followed him on her guitar. _"Quittin' the bottle at the end of the day. Wanna be there for heaven let it open the gate. I'll give up the lying if you're gonna stay. I'll be quitting at the end of the day."_

" _Don't say it's over I'm gonna change what I've done. Gonna lay down beside you, gonna lay down my gun. The struggle ain't over, but I hope you will stay. 'Cause I'm quittin' at the end of the day."_ They looked into each other's eyes as they sang.

" _Done with the cheatin' that drove you away, but you'll give me forgiveness if I promise to change. I told you it's over so what else can I say? I'll be quitting at the end of the day."_ Maddie took the verse alone again. This was the first song they had sang together that made them realize the chemistry between them.

" _Don't say it's over I'm gonna fix what I've done. Gonna lay down beside you. Gonna lay down my gun. The struggle ain't over, but I hope you will stay. 'Cause I'm quittin' at the end of the day."_ They didn't bother taking their eyes off each other.

" _Hold on a couple hours I'll be home ready to lay in your arms don't change your mind."_ They smiled at each other.

They strummed their guitars in unison and moved closer together until they were face to face sharing a mic. _"But, don't say it's over I'm gonna fix what I've done. I will lay down beside you. Gonna lay down my gun. The struggle ain't over, but I hope you will stay. 'Cause I'm quittin' at the end of the day. I'll be quittin' at the end of the day. Yeah, I'm quittin' at the end of the day."_ Their lips were almost touching by the time they finished.

"Alright, ya'll I'm gonna take a short break now, but I'll be back." JC took his guitar off and exited the stage.

Maddie was waiting backstage for him. "We shouldn't have done that song."

JC rubbed her cheek and rested his forehead against hers. "I felt it, Cricket, it's still there. You can't deny that you felt it too."

Maddie put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply. "I can. Of course I can, but I can't do this right now. I'm sorry I gotta go." She walked away before he could stop her.

* * *

Deacon gave himself one last once over in the full length mirror in his and Rayna's bedroom. Everything seemed to be in order and he nodded in appreciation. "Ray, you 'bout ready to go?"

Rayna stood up from her vanity fully dressed with her makeup done. "I'm ready." She grabbed her clutch off the bed.

"The limo should be waitin' for us outside any minute." Deacon took her hand.

"Let's see if we can get out of the house without the little one having a meltdown." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"That is gonna be a miracle." Deacon sighed as they walked down the steps.

"Kids come here and tell momma and daddy bye." Rayna yelled out to her children. She didn't ever trick them by sneaking out of the house. She rather have them cry and know she was leaving than to get up later and wonder where she'd gone.

"You look gorgeous, momma." Deac told her.

"Yeah, momma, you're really pretty." Jayme chimed in.

"You look like a princess, momma." Jack added.

"Listen to this all this love for momma and daddy gets nothin'." Deacon teased.

"You're very handsome, daddy." Charlie hugged him around the waist.

"Thanks, Pistol. At least I know one of you loves me." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

"Can we stay up and watch the whole show?" Deac asked. He was the spokesman for the group. When they wanted something they typically put him up to asking for it.

"I don't see why not. As long as you get your baths before and then lay around in the living room. No being little menaces for your mawmaw." Rayna laid down the law. She was used to being the bad guy. Deacon was more of the secret weapon reserved for when they really did something bad.

"Ya'll mind your mawmaw. I don't want you givin' her any trouble." Deacon told them.

"We will be good." Jayme promised.

"I know that you'll have good intentions anyway." Deacon bit back a chuckle.

"Deacon John, Ray, go on you two don't wanna be late. I've got 'em they will be fine. I'll make sure that they bathe and get settled down." June picked Jack up and put him on her hip. "You are gettin' way too big."

"Alright, I love ya'll. Momma and daddy gotta go now. We will see you later." Rayna blew them all a kiss.

"Daddy loves you." Deacon kissed them all on the head. "Momma, you heard that they get to stay up and watch all of the show tonight."

"I heard. They will be perfect angels for me like they always are." June kissed his cheek. "You clean up so nicely, baby boy."

"Thanks, momma." Deacon blushed a little bit.

"You almost look like you deserve a wife that beautiful." June winked at him.

"I know that I don't deserve her, but for whatever reason she chose me anyway." Deacon retorted.

"His rough outer shell aside he is beautiful on the inside and that is what he did to deserve me." Rayna wrapped both her arms around one of his.

"Ya'll women like to see if you can embarrass me." Deacon blushed again.

"Honey, we just love you." Rayna laughed. "Let's get out of here. We are gonna be early for once."

"If we are gonna be early for the first time in forever we better get a move on." Deacon agreed. He reached down and scratched the dog's ears. "Hey, don't ya'll forget to let Elvis out tonight."

"I'll let him out, daddy." Deac promised. Over the years Elvis had become more his dog than anyone else's.

"Bye, babies." Rayna waved at them as she and Deacon walked out the front door.

Deacon opened the door to the limo for her and helped her inside before he slid in after her. They rode to the Bridgestone in silence holding each other's hand the whole way. They didn't have to fill their time together with idle chatter. They were just content to be with each other without saying a word. Every so often he would steal a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. After all their years together she still got to him in the best way possible.

She had no idea the surprise that he had in store for her. Ten years ago that night she had given him one of the greatest surprises of his life when she told him she was pregnant with the boys. Now he wanted to return the favor with a simple romantic gesture to show her how much she meant to him.

"You ready to do this, babe?" Deacon smiled over at Rayna.

Rayna had her compact out and was fixing her lip gloss. "Now I'm ready. If someone hadn't insisted on messin' my lips up I would've been good to go."

"You know that kiss was worth it." Deacon grinned at her.

"Come here and let me fix your tie. I can't have you walking the red carpet at the CMAs looking a mess." Rayna straightened his tie for him.

"Am I up to your standards now?" Deacon's eyes twinkled.

"You are always up to my standards. Even when you're just wearing jeans and a flannel shirt." Rayna took his hand and squeezed it.

Deacon took something out of his pocket and fastened it around her wrist.

"Oh my goodness, Deacon, what is this?" Rayna gasped at the sight of diamond bracelet that now adorned her wrist.

"Happy anniversary, baby. It was ten years ago tonight that we officially got back together." Deacon explained to her.

"It was the best damn decision that I've ever made in my life. You are the most wonderful husband and father that I could ask for." Rayna forgot all about her lip gloss and kissed him.

"Mmm, that felt one of the kisses that leads to more later." Deacon moaned softly.

"Just you wait, darlin'." Rayna drug her finger down his chest.

An attendant knocked on the window of their window.

Deacon rolled down the window.

"Ms. Jaymes, Mr. Claybourne, we're ready for you." He told them.

"We're ready." Deacon replied.

The attendant opened the door for them.

Deacon got out of the back of the limo first and he gave Rayna his hand to help her out. "Here we go, darlin'."

"Here we go." Rayna parroted. Her dress was covered in rhinestones and her hair was done in soft bouncing curls.

They walked down the red carpet holding hands. They stopped every so often to pose for pictures and to talk to fans.

"Here we have country music power couple Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne." One of the red carpet commentators said.

"I don't know 'bout that power couple business." Deacon laughed good naturedly.

"We're not used to that. I think we are more used to being momma and daddy these days and we wouldn't have it any other way." Rayna had her stage smile on.

"I'd beg to differ on that one. Rayna, you're still the undisputed Queen of Country. Deacon, you're the go to guy in this business for songwriting and you've become quite the superstar yourself over the last decade." She countered.

"There's a sayin' that goes you dance with who brought you. The fact that I get to look over on the side of that stage and still see her standin' there after all these years means everythin' to me. I love my fans and the fact that they're still listenin' to my music blows me away. That's all that matters gettin' my music heard and whether it's by one person or one million people." Deacon had gotten really good at handling the press.

"I couldn't have said it any better than my husband just put it. There's a reason he co-writes most of my songs. It's not just because he's my very best friend. It's because he's one of the best song writers I've ever worked with. Underneath his rugged exterior is the heart of a poet." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"Speaking of collaborations you two have made together. How does it feel to have both your daughters as major contenders now?" She asked.

"What daughters? You can't be talkin' 'bout our girls they are still eleven and fifteen in my mind. Sometimes when I look up to talk to 'em it's hard to believe I'm talkin' to two grown women. Seriously though, they think they know how proud I am of them, but until they have kids of their own they won't understand. They have always been incredibly talented and they have only gotten better with age." Deacon got a wistful look on his face thinking about his girls growing up.

"I don't think I have words to describe how I feel about those two amazingly strong and beautiful women we raised. I do still forget sometimes that they aren't little girls anymore and my offers of unsolicited advice are met with eye rolls. I am so incredibly proud of them though. I don't even know what else to say." Rayna was at a loss for words.

"You two have a duet of the year nomination, Deacon got the nod for entertainer of the year, and the artists on your label have a whole bunch of nominations. I'd say it's been a pretty good year for Highway Sixty-five." She went on.

"That's for sure. I can't argue with you there." Deacon said smilingly.

"We are humbled and honored to still be on the top after this many years. The show of support from our fans is just wow." Rayna answered.

They excused themselves and went inside.

"Freakin' Deacon," Luke called out.

"Wheels Up," Deacon greeted him.

"Can't take those two anywhere." Stephanie commented to Rayna.

"I know it and you know it. They just don't realize how they come across." Rayna replied.

"And they don't care either." Stephanie added.

"Why do our women have to talk 'bout us every time they get together?" Luke wondered.

"It's just the way they are. It's what we put up with because we love 'em so much." Deacon shrugged his shoulders as if to say there was nothing that they could do about it.

"Again, Luke, I will refer you to the comment Deacon just made. He's romantic when he says stuff. You on the other hand just come across as an ass sometimes and that's why you're always in trouble." Stephanie pointed out.

"Luke, you better behave yourself before you lose this woman again. I happen to think that she can do better than you." Rayna joked with him.

"Luke, it may just be time for you to go find the bar. These women are relentless. And there are only two of 'em here right now. My sister-in-law is bound to walk through that door any minute and it's only gonna get worse." Deacon advised him.

"I'd be inclined to do just that if I hadn't told Colt that I'd talk to him before we went in." Luke replied.

"He's on speakin' terms with you after what you let them do to him?" Deacon laughed.

"It was just a little moonshine it ain't ever hurt nobody." Luke laughed too.

"Do we want to know what goes on during this hunting trip?" Rayna asked.

"I don't think we do." Stephanie told her.

"I don't drink I just sit back and watch." Deacon defended himself.

"Darlin', if by some miracle you woke up tomorrow with your drinkin' under control and you could do it without goin' overboard. I would still leave your ass if you thought about drinkin' with Luke. I know what kind of trouble that can lead to." Rayna patted his cheek gently.

"We will never live down the Tijuana story." Luke shook his head.

"We should never live down the Tijuana story. Actually there are two Tijuana stories and dependin' on which one she is referrin' to we should just not mess with her." Deacon didn't even know how he was still alive sometimes after all the stupid things that he had done as a young man.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We got to the beginning of the CMAs in this chapter. As you guys know historically in my stories this is when all the good stuff starts to happen. Maddie and JC can only do this dance around each other for so long before something changes. I have a lot of good stuff in store for next chapter. Until next time please review.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 7

"Will, Jesus, babe, did you bathe in your aftershave tonight?" Mack spoke to his husband through gritted teeth as they posed for a picture on the red carpet.

"No, I used a little bit this stuff is just strong. The kids gave it to me for Father's Day, so blame yourself." Will too talked through his teeth to maintain his smile.

"Bad call on my part." Mack walked into the arena with him.

"Really bad call, babe." Will laughed.

"Now, don't you two love birds get started already the night is young." JC walked over to them. He was wearing his dressy cowboy hat. He had on a black open collared shirt and black slacks with his good boots.

"JC, you don't ever stop. How can you tell us not to start, brother?" Will patted him on the back.

"Do as I say not as I do." JC grinned.

"That right there sounds like something that Will tells the kids." Mack chuckled.

"I heard that from my daddy that would be why it sounds like that." JC laughed too.

"Where are you sittin' tonight?" Will asked.

"I saw the seatin' chart when I had to come in here for practice and they sat me next to you." JC told him.

"So I've obviously done something to piss someone off around here. It's not enough that I deal with the two of you together all the time." Mack played around with them.

"We will go grab a drink at the bar backstage before we go sit down. It'll make it more bearable for you." Will said.

They started walking off in the direction of the bar.

Mack caught sight of Maddie and Colt walking in. "Maybe we should walk the other way." He suggested.

"I ain't gonna punch him out. Not out in public and not in front of Rayna. You don't have to worry. I do know how to control my temper." JC assured him.

"You didn't do anythin' to him over the weekend either. I think that you can be trusted." Will agreed with him.

"Jimmy, were you thinking that maybe you could be like Johnny Cash?" Maddie asked him.

"You are gorgeous as usual, Maddie." JC took her hand and kissed it because he knew that it would piss her and Colt off. He only said that he wouldn't start throwing punches not that he wouldn't be a shit disturber.

"Thanks, Jimmy." Maddie smiled, but she pulled her hand away quickly.

"And I'm the lucky guy that got to come as her arm candy." Colt wrapped his arm around her waist.

"She has a way of makin' the guy with her look good." Mack winked at her.

"Mack, you have a husband. Don't you be flirting with me." Maddie laughed at him.

"Maddie, he knows that I would dump him in a minute if you'd have me." Mack joked.

"Mack, don't be so loud 'bout that. That's how rumors get started." Will smacked himself in the center of the forehead.

"Why is it that they are all grown, but they still act like teenagers?" Rayna wondered.

"I don't know. I feel like this is a decade ago and I need to tell them to behave themselves and not get too drunk at the bar durin' breaks." Deacon replied.

"Deacon, we know how to behave ourselves now." Will assured him.

"I've been on tour with you and Jimmy. I think you two do the opposite of behave yourselves together." Luke cocked his head to the side.

"We ain't that bad anymore." Will defended.

"Maddie, where is your sister?" Rayna asked.

"That is a good question. You should be mildly worried. Her and Casey came together. I'm gonna need to go find them soon. It's not exactly safe for me to hang out with Casey alone. Daphne is young and impressionable. I would hate to see what she could talk her into." Maddie groaned.

"Go find your sister. We all know how bad Casey can be. I can't believe you of all people let her come with her." Sadie said as her and Rhett walked over.

"Casey ain't bad. I just wouldn't let her babysit the kids without expectin' her to teach them a few new colorful words." Rhett piped in.

"I'm just gonna go find her." Maddie excused herself.

"Maddie, I'll see you out there." JC tipped his hat to her.

"Yeah, I'll see you out there." Maddie waved at him.

* * *

Daphne took her drink from the bartender backstage and took a healthy swallow out of it.

"Fancy running into you here." Jeff slid up behind her and whispered in her ear.

Daphne craned her head over her shoulder and glared at him. "What are you doing, Jeff? Have you lost your mind?"

"It would look weird if I didn't talk to my boss's granddaughter." Jeff replied.

"You need to remember that I am your boss's granddaughter. What used to happen between us can never happen again." Daphne whispered lowly.

"Why not? My wife is gone. We are done for good." Jeff gave her a charming smile.

"Because I had to be out of my mind to let the happen with you before. And I happen to be someone that learns from my mistakes. That's what you were a mistake." Daphne told him firmly.

"I don't recall you ever leaving my bed less than satisfied." Jeff smirked.

"Jeff, stop talking right now. You know as well as I do all I have to say is one word and you'll be out of a job." Daphne stared him down.

"You wouldn't dare. We both know that you don't want your family to see you as anything other than the good dutiful daughter." Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Watch yourself." Daphne warned him.

"You know me I like to push my boundaries." Jeff got closer to her.

"Hey, Daphne," Joel walked over with a drink in his hand. He was dressed in a suit and tie.

"Joel, I didn't expect to see you here." Daphne smiled genuinely.

"I saw you standin' over here and I was hopin' that maybe you'd show me 'round. I don't really know anyone here. I just got elected to come by my coach 'cause it looks good." Joel's eyes sparkled.

"I'd be happy to show you around." Daphne took his hand and led him away.

"I don't really need ya to show me 'round. I just looked like you didn't really wanna be talkin' to him." Joel whispered to her.

"Joel, you have no idea how much I didn't want to be talking to him. You're getting free drinks for life at the Mile Marker and the Exit Ramp." Daphne whispered back to him.

Jeff stood there open mouthed. He couldn't believe that she had just walked away from him like that.

"Let her go, Jeff. If you know what's good for you, you will just let her go. And I don't mean just let her walk away. I mean stop trying to keep that girl on a string. She deserves better than you." Casey stood beside him with a cold look on her face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Miller." Jeff played it off.

"Sure you don't, Jeff." Casey rolled her eyes.

"Casey, why are you wasting your breath on this waste of space?" Maddie caught up to her friend.

"I was just having a talk with him about keepin' his hands to himself." Casey gave her a knowing look.

"Hey look it's girl interrupted." Jeff quipped.

"Jeff, this is your first and last warning. You leave my baby sister alone or I will let my hillbilly friend here loose on you and you don't want that. No one wants that. She's my friend and I don't even like to let people know that I associate with her." Maddie plastered a fake smile on her face.

"It's true. She likes to set me loose on people that she doesn't like." Casey nodded her head.

"I think Jeff understands. He may be a James Bond supervillain, but he's a smart man. Come on, Casey, our work here is done. I have to go get ready to go out on stage." Maddie jerked her head in the direction of the dressing rooms.

"Alright, I'm comin'. I wouldn't have hurt him much." Casey walked off with her.

"Casey, I know you. You would destroy him if I let you." Maddie laughed at her.

"Only a little bit." Casey grinned.

"Remind me when I have kids I'm never leaving them alone with you." Maddie shook her head.

"That would be smart on your part." Casey agreed with her.

* * *

" _I know I should let it go take a different road when I'm drivin' home, but I don't want to. Delete your number from my phone 'stead of callin' askin' if you're all alone, but I don't want to. Stay away from your side of town, but it's too late I'm in your drive right now."_ The spotlight turned on JC as soon as he started singing.

The screen behind him lit up with flames while the rest of the stage remained pitch black. He picked his mic up from the stand. _"I don't know why I don't put it out, baby. We kiss and the flames just get higher. Yeah, I know when I hold onto you, baby, I'm all tangled up in barbed wire. I get burned, I don't learn, I'll be back give it time. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but guess I like playin' with fire."_

" _Ooh,"_ The spotlight came on Maddie as she took over. _"I could find a spot to go hang out on Friday night where you ain't gonna be, but I don't want to, no. Yeah, I could let it end, call it quits, call off all this on and off again, but I just don't want to. Yeah, that key is right under the mat come on in, baby, let's strike that match."_

" _I don't know why I don't put out, baby. We kiss and the flames just get higher. Yeah, I know when I hold onto you, baby, I'm all tangled up in barbed wire. I get burned, I don't learn, I'll be back give it time. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but guess I like playin' with fire. Playin' with fire."_ JC and Maddie faced each other as they sang the chorus.

" _So let's fire it up one more time."_ JC moved closer to Maddie.

" _Fire it up one more time."_ Maddie further closed the gap between them.

" _Baby, just put your lips on mine."_ Their hips were touching and they stared into each other's eyes.

" _I don't know why I don't put it out, baby. We kiss and flames just higher."_ JC sang.

" _We kiss and the flames just higher."_ Maddie showed off her vocal range.

" _Yeah, I know when I hold onto you, baby. I'm all tangled up in barbed wire."_ JC wailed.

" _All tangled up, all tangled up."_ Maddie hit the top of her register.

" _I get burned, I don't learn, I'll be back give it time. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but guess I like playin' with fire. Playin' with fire."_ They both sang their asses off.

" _Playin' with fire."_ Maddie sang breathily to end the song.

The whole auditorium was on their feet clapping.

"Oh my God, you two, that was better than you rehearsed it." Rayna hugged them both when they left the stage.

"I don't know, 'bout Cricket there, but that felt good." JC was pumped up.

"That felt damn good." Maddie agreed with him. She was riding her usual post performance high.

"Woo wee, ya'll damn near burnt that stage down. It's safe to say that you've still got it." Deacon fanned himself.

"We never lost it, dad." Maddie took JC's hand without thinking about it.

"And we never will, that spark ain't goin' nowhere." JC squeezed her hand.

Deacon caught Rayna's attention and pointed to their hands with his eyes.

Rayna nodded her understanding.

* * *

Daphne won the award for best new artist. Sure she had been in the business for years, but this was really her first outing as a solo artist. "Wow, I don't really know what to say. Obviously I want to think my fans. My label, my parents, and a special thank you to Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Jack. They let me try out my stuff on them before I'm sure if I want to put it on track or not. Maddie, this is just as much yours as it is mine. I wouldn't be half the artist I am today without you."

Maddie blew her sister a kiss from her seat.

"I'm so damn proud of her, Deacon." Rayna wiped a tear away.

"Me too, babe." Deacon cleared his throat to hide his emotions.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Deacon had been tasked with presenting the award for female vocalist of the year.

"Here we go." Juliette gripped Avery's hand tightly.

"No matter what you're still the best in my book. You already took album of the year." Avery leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"We're still friends after this, right?" Casey asked Maddie.

"Of course we are." Maddie smiled at her.

"The nominees for female vocalist of the year are. Juliette Barnes, Miranda Lambert, Jana Kramer, Casey Miller, and Maddie Claybourne. And the winner is." Deacon opened the envelope. His face got red and his eyes teared up. "Maddie Claybourne."

"I hate you, bitch." Casey hugged her.

"You love me." Maddie replied.

Colt kissed her cheek. "I'm proud of you."

Maddie smiled at him.

JC stopped her and hugged her before he would let her out. "That's my girl, Cricket." He whispered to her.

Juliette grabbed her hand and squeezed it as she walked by.

Avery looked at his wife trying to hide a smirk.

"Don't look at me like that. If I had to lose to anyone, I'm glad it was her." Juliette rolled her eyes. She had gotten soft with age.

Maddie walked up on stage and hugged Deacon. "I'm so proud of you, baby girl." He whispered to her.

Maddie smiled at him and accepted her statue. She took a deep breath as she stood at the podium. "I just had to take a minute and let this one soak in. This is my first female vocalist of the year award. I'm in some pretty hallowed company Juliette Barnes, Sadie Stone, and of course my mom Rayna Jaymes. And to have my dad be the one to read my name that's everything. Mom, dad, thank you for always believing in me even when I know I make you want to give up on me. Daphne, you make me better than I already am. To my little monkeys at home sissy loves you so much. To my writing partner who was the first person to bring all this out in me. And to my amazing fans thank you for hanging in there with me for so long. I wouldn't be here without any of you."

"Oh, Miss Maddie, your daddy is so proud of you right now." Deacon waited for her on the side of the stage.

"I'm proud of myself. I honestly didn't think I was gonna win that one. I thought for sure that it was Casey's." Maddie replied.

"It was a very competitive field this year. I'll tell you this much though one of ya'll or Juliette are who should have won." Deacon told her.

"Daddy, you have to say that you're my daddy and we are on your label." Maddie laughed at him.

"It sounded good." Deacon pulled her against his side and kissed her cheek.

"Dad, we are in public." Maddie groaned.

"A father can't help bein' proud of his daughter and embarrassin' her." Deacon laughed heartily.

"You will never have any idea how embarrassin' you are as you put it." Maddie mocked his accent.

"Damn, little bit, you pulled that accent off." Deacon sounded impressed.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Deacon was up at the podium making his acceptance speech for entertainer of the year. "Ya'll I am absolutely humbled by this. When I started out I never expected anythin' of this magnitude. Thanks to my fans and my label. A special shout out to Bucky he puts up with a lot guff from me and he always takes it with a smile. For my kids Maddie, Daphne, Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Henry ya'll put up with daddy bein' gone and busy a lot of the time so I can chase my dreams. I wouldn't be able to do what I love if not for you bein' so patient with me. To my love, my life, and the song in my heart, Ray, this is yours too baby. We step back and take turns lettin' each other shine, but I think together we are as bright as the sun. I love you so much and I don't know what I'd do or where I'd be without you."

* * *

Rayna and Deacon walked into the house holding hands.

"Hey, ya'll." June whispered so she didn't wake the kids up.

"They all passed out on you?" Deacon asked.

"Jack barely made it through your last acceptance speech. He was out before the news came on. The other three insisted that they were gonna wait up for you to get home you see how that turned out." June pointed to the other three children who were all passed out on the couch. She was holding Jack.

"They are a bunch of night owls that don't need a lot of sleep 'cause we've had 'em on our schedule since they were born, but when they are tired there is no keepin' 'em awake." Rayna smiled softly.

Deacon took off his jacket and tie and laid them across the back of the couch. He rolled up his sleeves. "I'm gonna take him on up to bed." He gently took Jack out of his mother's arms.

"Night-night, sweet boy, mawmaw loves you." June whispered to him softly.

Rayna stood on one foot and took one of heels off. She then switched feet and took her other heel off. "It feels good to be out of those." She sighed in relief.

"One of these days you're gonna listen to me 'bout wearin' shoes like that. Your back is not gonna appreciate that when you get older." June stood and gathered her purse.

"June, you ain't gotta take off right away." Rayna told her.

"Sweetie, I need to go stop by the bar anyway. I'll be fine. I may be a little older now, but I can still do for myself." June assured her.

"Well, at least wait until Deacon gets down here to walk you out." Rayna reasoned with her.

"Ok, I can do that." June agreed.

Deacon came back down a minute later. "You flyin' the coop on us?"

"Yeah, come walk me out." June told him.

"It'll be my pleasure." Deacon offered her his arm.

"Babe, I'm gonna go upstairs and change." Rayna said.

"Alright, I'll get those other three monkeys when I get back in." Deacon replied.

Ten minutes later Rayna found Deacon standing in the doorway of Deac and Jayme's room just staring at them.

Rayna wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "What are you doing?"

"I'm watchin' 'em sleep. I was thinkin' that it ain't gonna be much longer that they wanna share a room. I was also thinkin' that it's been ten years since the night you told me that you were pregnant with 'em. Back then I couldn't imagine that things would have turned out as well for us as they did." Deacon smiled.

"Like you said they are the best duet that we ever made together." Rayna kissed the back of his neck.

"I still stand by that. They are the best of both of us. Really all these kids are." Deacon replied.

"Are they all tucked in according to standard bedtime procedures?" Rayna joked. All the kids had something different that they liked at bedtime.

"Of course. I wouldn't want one of them to wake up and accuse me of not tuckin' 'em in right. I may lose my tuck in rights. I have to say I'm a little disappointed that they were sleepin' when we got home. Bedtime concerts are my favorite crowd to play. They ain't gonna want that for much longer and I'm enjoyin' every minute of it." Deacon turned around and kissed her.

"I think you still have quite a few years of bedtime concerts to get through. Jack is only four and I don't see him outgrowing them any time soon." Rayna reassured him.

"Damn good thing I'm great at this bein' an artist thing I'm gonna need that gig once my tour of duty as a daddy to little monkeys is up. They won't need or want me 'round as much once they are teenagers." Deacon didn't even want to think about them being that old.

"That may have to go on the back burner. Here in a few more years you should be getting promoted to a pawpaw gig." Rayna smirked.

"That would mean that Maddie would actually have to get her love life sorted out. I'll tell you what I know one thing as sure as I know my own name and that's she ain't through with Jimmy not by a long shot." Deacon shuddered at the thought of his baby having a baby.

"Darlin', I don't think we are gonna have to worry 'bout those two for much longer. They want so badly to be together that you can see it when they look at each other. I expect Colt to be gone soon." Rayna reasoned.

"I guess you're right." Deacon replied.

"I know I'm right. Now if all the little monkeys are secure for the night. I believe that earlier I kissed you like I meant it and I was hoping that you would want to do something about that." Rayna bit her lip.

"Damn right I do." Deacon shut the boys' bedroom door and scooped her up in his arms. "Did I ever tell you I find you much sexier in your t-shirt and sleep pants than I do when you're all dressed up?" He kissed her between every word.

Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think you may have mentioned that a time or two. I'm getting up there in age though. I think I'm gonna need you to show me exactly what you're talking about."

"I can arrange that." Deacon carried her into their bedroom and used his foot to shut the door behind him. He reached back and locked it. He carried her over to the bed and tossed her on it.

Rayna giggled as she landed on the bed. "I like it when you get rough with me like that."

"You wanna play it that way tonight." Deacon unbuttoned his shirt and threw it across the room.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Rayna challenged him.

"Just give me a minute to get out of this monkey suit and I'll show ya." Deacon worked on shedding the rest of his clothes.

"Don't take too long or I may just start without you." Rayna egged him on.

* * *

JC had just turned off all the lights in the bunkhouse and finished locking up for the night when there was a knock on the door. "Son of a bitch," He turned on one of the lights and opened the door. He was surprised to see Maddie on the other side still in her gown. "Maddie, what are you doin' here?"

"Jimmy, don't talk, don't think, just feel." Maddie put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed him.

JC wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeper. To his pleasant surprise she didn't pull away from him. Nor did she pull away from him when he unzipped her dress and moved her to his bed. He broke the kiss long enough to pull his shirt over his head and then he fused his lips back to hers. They both shed their clothes in a frenzy.

"Maddie, are you sure?" He whispered against her lips as he hovered above her his weight supported on his arms.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Maddie pulled him down to her and kissed him again. She moaned against his lips as he sank into her. It felt so right. It was like they were two pieces of the same puzzle.

JC rocked his hips against hers slowly. It felt like it had been forever and just yesterday that they had been connected like this and he wanted to make it last.

Afterwards they lay there naked in each other's arms.

"I ain't gonna have some jealous lover showin' up on my doorstep am I?" JC laughed.

"No, I blew everything apart with him tonight and then I came right over to see you." Maddie kissed his chest.

"I thought you said you couldn't be with me if I wasn't gonna talk 'bout it." JC looked confused.

"I decided that it didn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we are together. You can tell me as much or as little as you want whenever you feel like you can talk about it. I'm done denying myself the one thing that makes me happy. And I don't give a damn who likes it or who doesn't." Maddie ran her hand over his abs.

"Cricket, it's gonna take me awhile to be able to talk 'bout it. I'm still sortin' through it all in my head. I can't tell you what's goin' on when I can't make sense of it myself. If you can be patient with me I promise you that I will tell you as much as I can as soon as I can." JC ran his hand up and down her back.

"I've missed hearin' you call me that so much. I've missed you so much. I'm so glad that you came back to me in one piece." Maddie buried her face in his chest.

"I love you too much not to do my damnedest to come back to you. I'd move heaven and earth to make it to wherever you are." JC kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too." Maddie mumbled against his chest. She lifted her head to look up at him. "Tell me that you have something to eat out in this shack I'm starving."

JC reached over and grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of sweats off the floor. "Here, you're gonna need these. You're 'bout to find out what I do when I get hungry in the middle of the night." He got up and pulled on jeans and t-shirt.

"What are we doing?" Maddie put on the clothes that he handed her.

"We are gonna make a trip up to the big house to get us somethin' to eat. Climb on up on my back. I'll carry you up there." JC turned around so his back was facing the bed.

Maddie climbed up on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "Stop wasting time and let's get moving."

JC walked out of the bunkhouse and up to Rayna and Deacon's house. He carried Maddie like she weighed nothing at all. He unlocked the side door and walked inside. "Here we are." He went over to the alarm system and punched the code in to keep it from going off.

"You know my parents' alarm code?" Maddie asked him.

"Of course I do. It's their anniversary." JC replied.

"Right, because you would remember something like that." Maddie laughed at him. They walked into the kitchen together. "Would it be totally wrong if I said I would kill for pancakes right now?"

"Not at all. Let's make it happen." JC started gathering what they would need to make pancakes. He got the griddle out and mixed up the batter while stood behind him with her chin resting on his shoulder.

"That smells so good. I think I forgot that you're kind of a master chef." Maddie trailed kisses along his jawline.

JC spun around and lifted her up on the counter so he would have better access to her lips. He kissed her until they were both breathless and then they just smiled at each other.

"Momma says that we aren't posed to sit on the counter." Jack shuffled into the kitchen rubbing his eyes.

"Jack Henry, there's my favorite little ginger. What are you doin' up?" JC picked him up and sat him on the counter next to Maddie.

"I thirsty." Jack yawned really big.

"Let's do somethin' to fix that." JC opened the fridge and grabbed him a juice box. He put the straw in it and handed it to him. "There's your drink."

"Thank you, Jimmy." Jack took a big drink.

Maddie leaned over and kissed the top of his head. She put her arm around him and pulled him against her side. "Jimmy's making pancakes. Do you want some? It'll be our secret. Momma and daddy never have to know." The truth was even if her parents knew they wouldn't say anything about it. Jack was the baby whatever he wanted he got.

"Yeah I do." Jack replied excitedly.

After they had finished eating Jack yawned again.

"Babe, he'll never go back up to his room if he knows both of us are here." Maddie said.

"I'll take him to lay on the couch and watch tv he will be out in no time." JC put the dishes in the sink.

"Jack, you're gonna go watch tv with your buddy Jimmy while sissy goes up to take a shower. I will be right back ok?"

"Ok, Maddie." Jack held his arms up to JC.

JC picked him up and carried him into the living room. "We will be right here waiting when you get back." He turned on the tv and he laid down on the couch with Jack laying with his back snuggled against his chest. He covered them both up and put a protective arm around him. Maybe he could do this after all. Maybe he wasn't as damaged as he thought he was.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope these CMAs lived up to your expectations. I told you that things were going to get interesting. Now that the Maddie and JC part is taken care of for the most part I can start adding all of our other favorites in. I really hope I did that reunion justice for you guys. Until next time please review.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 8

"Maddie, wake up, sweet girl." Rayna gently shook Maddie awake.

Maddie stretched out her limbs and groaned. "Mom, why are you in my apartment?" Her sleep laden voice sounded confused.

"I'm not in your apartment, baby girl, you're in your bedroom at home." Rayna explained to her.

Maddie rubbed her head over her face as she tried to collect her thoughts. Everything started to come back to her from last night. Breaking up with Colt, her reunion with JC, and their raid on her mother's kitchen. "Shit. I was just gonna take a shower and go back downstairs. I got out of the shower and I sat down for a minute to think I must have fallen asleep. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry this is your home and your room is always here waiting for you. Is there anything that you need to talk about." Rayna pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I broke up with Colt last night. As in love as he is with me I know that I will never feel that way about him or any other man for that matter. I have a good man that I love with all my heart. Denying myself that is just stupid." Maddie sat up.

"I can't imagine that he took it well." Rayna sat on the edge of the bed.

"That's kinda of the understatement of the year. He begged and pleaded there were tears, but I just don't love him." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"You saved him a lot of heartache in the long run. As happy as I am that you came to your senses that still doesn't quite explain what you're doing here." Rayna hadn't quite been able to work that part out in her mind yet.

"Does someone wanna explain to me why Jimmy is downstairs sleepin' on the couch with Jack?" Deacon shuffled into the room.

"So, that's what you're doing here." Rayna looked at her daughter knowingly.

"That's what I'm doing here." Maddie nodded her head with a small grin.

"I ain't even gonna try to figure out what's goin' on. I need coffee." Deacon grumbled and shuffled back out of the room.

"How come I remember him being so much more alert in the morning when he would take us to school? There were times he would be going on no sleep and he was still wide awake." Maddie commented.

"He'd probably already had his coffee and not that I'm calling him old, but he was younger then. And we were out later than we normally are last night." Rayna pointed out to her.

"That was a really nice way to put it, mom." Maddie laughed softly.

"Come on downstairs your brothers and sister are gonna be excited that you're here." Rayna offered held her hand out to her.

Maddie took her hand and got up. "That'll be fun. I feel like I don't get to see enough of them."

"Trust me if you had to be with them every day you wouldn't feel that way." Rayna loved all her kids she just needed a break from them sometimes.

"That's why I only take them in small doses at least until they are a little older." Maddie replied.

"That's when you got bad. You were very well behaved as a little girl. It was the teenage years that made me question whether or not I would kill you before you reached adulthood." Rayna arched an eyebrow at her.

"Except a few notable instances I was also a pretty good teenager." Maddie objected to that.

"You sure made those few notable instances count though didn't you?" Rayna countered.

"We've established that I was a minion of hell from the age of thirteen until I was probably eighteen. I don't think that we need to rehash it now." Maddie walked down the steps with her mother.

"Try until you were twenty-two." Rayna corrected her.

"Whatever you say, mom." Maddie shook her head.

* * *

Jack laid on the couch in JC's arms. He was facing him and running his little fingers over the older man's beard. "Jimmy, wake up." He whispered softly.

"Mr. Man, what are you doing to your buddy Jimmy?" Rayna asked him.

"I'm ticklin' him beard and tryin' to wake him up." Jack replied.

"Well, that's only gonna keep him asleep. Jimmy likes to have his beard played with. If you wanna wake him up you have to go for his ticklish spot." Maddie uncovered JC's feet. "His feet," She lightly drug her nail across the sole of his foot.

JC jumped slightly. "Maddie, stop it." He mumbled.

"Is he awake or is that just a reflex?" Rayna asked.

"I don't know sometimes I can't tell." Maddie replied.

"I'm awake I have been since this one started playin' with my beard. I thought it was you at first, but then I realized that his fingers were too small to be yours. And you spend a crazy amount of money on manicures. His little fingernails are too unkempt." JC laughed. He ruffled Jack's hair and kissed his head. "Did we fall asleep together?"

"We did." Jack giggled.

"Alright, little boy, you need to let go of your beloved Jimmy and go potty. I can only imagine that you got up in the middle of the night to get a drink." Rayna told him.

"That's why he was up. He had a juice box and milk." Maddie reported.

"I don't wanna leave Jimmy." Jack pouted.

"We're both dry. He didn't pee his pants." JC said. He lifted Jack up and sat him on his feet on the floor and he got up. "Come on we will go to the bathroom together." He held his hand out to the little boy.

"Ok, Jimmy," Jack took his hand.

"Hold on just one second. I got somethin' to do first." JC pulled Maddie to him and kissed her.

"Mmm, I love you." Maddie smiled against his lips.

"I love you too." JC rested his forehead against hers.

"You better go take your little buddy to the bathroom. I don't think he's gonna go without you." Maddie told him.

"We be right back, momma and sissy. Come on, Jimmy." Jack urged JC.

"Come on, little buddy." JC walked him to the bathroom.

"He's gonna make a great daddy one day." Rayna observed.

"Yeah he is. He's pretty damn adorable with Jack. Though that could just be Jack's adorableness rubbing off on him." Maddie smiled softly. The truth was she could see herself settling down and having kids soon.

"That boy could make anyone adorable, but then again I'm kinda partial to that one. He's my last and I don't know what I'm gonna do once he doesn't need me as much anymore." Rayna sighed at the thought.

"Is this your way of hinting that you want grandbabies?" Maddie smirked.

"Darlin', I ain't got time to waste bein' subtle. How are you gonna know what I want if I don't ask for it?" Rayna laughed.

"I'll take that into consideration, mother. I'd like to get married first though." Maddie pointed out to her.

"I see that as a minor obstacle. I expect you to get married any time now." Rayna replied.

"Does anyone care to tell me why there's a strange truck in my driveway?" Deacon came into the room holding a cup of coffee.

"Now, that I know nothing about. You do have another daughter that might know something about that though." Maddie supplied helpfully.

"Are you sure that it's not Casey's truck?" Rayna asked him.

"I know what Casey's truck looks like and no it's not Casey's truck." Deacon answered her.

Daphne came out of the music room with Joel. "It's his truck, dad."

"I have a baseball player and a hockey player here all the time I might as well add a football player to the lineup." Deacon chuckled.

"Joel Preston, it's real nice to meet you, Mr. Claybourne, and you too, Ms. Jaymes." Joel extended his hand to Deacon.

"Call me Deacon, Joel. No one calls me Mr. Claybourne." Deacon shook his hand.

"And you can call me Rayna. We ain't real formal 'round here." Rayna smiled at him.

Joel smiled back. "Whatever ya'll want."

"Since my sister isn't gonna introduce us I'm Maddie." Maddie offered him her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Maddie." Joel shook her hand.

"So, Joel, what are your intentions with my baby sister?" Maddie asked him.

"Joel, unless you want to answer fifty million questions from two nine year olds I suggest you get out of here. I know that you have to get to practice. You'll never get out of here if my brothers see you. They love football." Daphne told him. She wanted to get him out of there before Maddie could go into her overprotective big sister routine.

"Yeah, I do have to get goin'. I'll meet your brothers some other time. I love meetin' my young fans and gettin' to interact with 'em." Joel replied.

"I'll walk you out, Joel." Daphne linked her arm with his.

"Daph, the only thing you did was put this off until a later date. I'm still gonna grill him." Maddie called after them.

"Now that I've had my coffee can someone please tell me why my baby boy was sleepin' on the couch with Jimmy?" Deacon asked.

"He woke up while Jimmy and I were raiding the fridge. He was thirsty and he stayed up to eat with us. I went upstairs to take a shower and I ended up falling asleep." Maddie explained.

"What were you doin' with him last night?" Deacon was a little confused.

"Babe, you're not that dense please stop acting like you are." Rayna shook her head.

Recognition dawned on Deacon's face and he smiled. "You got back together with Jimmy."

Rayna laughed and stole a kiss from him. "Yes, she got back together with him."

"We were just talkin' 'bout that last night." Deacon mused.

"Can you maybe take Jack with you when you take the kids to school? I would like to log some quality mother-daughter time with my oldest two babies." Rayna asked him hopefully.

"I can do that." Deacon agreed.

* * *

After Deacon had loaded all the kids up to take them to school and JC had gone back to the bunkhouse Rayna sat on the living room couch in between Maddie and Daphne.

"Why do I get the feeling that you did something to and now she wants to talk to us both?" Daphne gave her sister a look.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm not the one sneaking boys into the house." Maddie quipped.

"Both of you knock it off. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to spend some time with my girls. I feel like we don't get to do that nearly enough anymore." Rayna told them.

"I know I've been busy lately." Daphne admitted.

"And I've been dealing with a royally screwed up love life." Maddie added.

"I know that ya'll are both really busy and we spend time together when we can. I like to touch base with you and see what's going on in your lives." Rayna put an arm around each of them.

"You pretty well know what's going on with me." Maddie shrugged.

"I don't have anything all that exciting going on right now." Daphne said.

"Nothing at all to say about the football that just left not that long ago?" Rayna smirked at her.

"He's just a friend, mom. I'm currently taking a break from relationships. I have plenty of time to worry about that stuff. I'm not as old as my sister who is getting up there and needs to think about settling down." Daphne deflected the heat off of her and onto Maddie.

"I don't need you on my case too. Mom has already expressed her want for grandchildren to me today." Maddie glared at her playfully.

"I'm just saying he was very cute and he seemed to be polite." Rayna observed innocently.

"Like I said he's just a friend. I don't know him that well yet, but from what I've seen so far I like him." Daphne blushed and looked down.

"I wouldn't kick him out of bed." Maddie joked.

"Maddie, I have no words for you right now." Rayna hid a smirk.

"Sometimes you just have to tell it like it is, mom." Maddie didn't sound apologetic in the least.

"I had another reason for wanting to talk to you two. Your dad has a birthday tomorrow and I wanted us to do a little something for him to celebrate." Rayna got to what she really wanted to discuss.

"Tomorrow isn't dad's birthday." Daphne looked confused.

"Mom, are you losing it?" Maddie asked.

"Not that kind of birthday. He's twelve years sober tomorrow and I want to acknowledge that. I don't always remember, but this year I did. With everything that he does for us I want to show him how proud we are of him. Can you two be here for dinner?" Rayna explained.

"I don't have anything else going on. I'll be here." Daphne agreed.

"I don't have anything to do that I can think of. I'd love to be here." Maddie smiled.

"Great, he'll love having all his kids around the dinner table. He battles this every day and sometimes I don't feel like we do enough to encourage or help him. I know it's something he has to do himself, but it's always nice to let him know that he has us." Rayna replied.

"I should get going. I have to start looking for a producer for my new album." Maddie said.

"Stop by the office later. I have a plan that involves you and Jimmy. I think you're both going to like what I have in mind." Rayna told her.

"I'll be sure to do that." Maddie got up.

"Maddie, just so you know. I have writing time booked with Jimmy today. So, he's gonna be mine for a few hours." Daphne informed her sister.

"That's fine. Like I said I have stuff to do today anyway." Maddie replied.

* * *

"Hey, Babe, I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it in today." Tandy greeted her sister when she walked into the office.

"I took some time off to spend with your oldest two nieces. Did anything that needs my attention happen while I was gone?" Rayna asked her.

"That phone has been ringing off the hook, but that is only because of the CMAs last night. Other than that it's business as usual." Tandy informed her.

"That's what I like to hear. I love it when things run smoothly around here." Rayna breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ray, please tell me that Maddie and JC already have that song from last night down on track. It's getting rave reviews from all the critics." Bucky walked over.

"It is down on track. You know what to do to get it released. You've never needed me to tell you how to do your job. I'm not your wife I don't feel the need to breathe over your shoulder." Rayna joked.

"Oh, that's so funny, Rayna." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"Babe, you kinda badger the hell out of him. It's a miracle that he hasn't quit or divorced you yet." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Those are her words not mine." Bucky said quickly.

"Buck, I don't pay any attention to my baby sister and she should know that." Tandy assured him.

"Speaking of husbands have either of you seen mine? I have something that I want to run by him and Bucky I warn you if he agrees to this it's gonna put a little more work on your plate." Rayna told him.

"He's in his office with Jack. I'm used to your wild ideas by now. Just let me know and I will get whatever it is you're wanting set up." Bucky just went with the flow. He was better off that way it kept him out of trouble.

"Thanks, Buck, you're a life saver." Rayna smiled brightly.

"Are you gonna tell me what's on your mind this time and how much money it's gonna cost us?" Tandy gave a resigned sigh.

"I'm gonna keep you in suspense until after I talk this over with Deacon. I'm just gonna go do that right now." Rayna excused herself.

Deacon sat on his couch with Jack on his lap. He was holding his guitar and moving his son's fingers over the strings. They weren't really playing any particular tune he was just teaching him the correct finger placement. "There you go, you're a natural. You're gettin' better and better at this every day. Your daddy is so proud of you."

"Thanks, daddy." Jack chirped happily.

"What kind of cuteness are my two boys up to without me?" Rayna said after she had stood in the doorway and watched them for a moment.

"We were just practicin' our guitar playin' skills." Deacon smiled up at her.

Rayna walked in and leaned up against the edge of his desk. "It looks like someone got his daddy's skills."

"That he did." Deacon agreed.

"So, I have something that I wanna run by you real fast." Rayna broached the subject.

"What is it?" Deacon eyed her warily.

"I was thinking that since lately I really haven't been feeling like an artist that maybe a few small tour dates were in order." Rayna told him.

"How long are you gonna leave me to play house husband for this time?" Deacon laughed. It was a running joke of theirs for those rare times that she went out on tour without him that he turned into a house husband and stay at home dad. They both knew that he didn't mind it one little bit.

"Darlin', you are coming with me. I thought ten tour dates ten days. Nowhere too far though that way we can sleep in our own bed every night. Nashville, Memphis, Gatlinburg, Knoxville keep it semi local. I also thought that we could arrange to have JC and Maddie join us. They both need something. He's been out of the spotlight because he was on deployment and her last album really sucked. God knows I love her, but that album sucked so badly." Rayna answered.

"I think I like the sound of that. Let's do it. I'll just give the band a call and have them start rehearsing." Deacon replied.

"This is why we work so well together. You're so damn agreeable when you want to be." Rayna chuckled.

"One of these days we are gonna make poor Buck loose the rest of his hair with the things we decide to do on the spur of the moment." Deacon shook his head.

"That's what he gets paid for." Rayna laughed harder.

"We should pay him more." Deacon laughed with her.

* * *

"Daph, are you ok? You seem kinda distracted today." JC asked.

Daphne blinked her eyes. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"What's on your mind? You can't write with your thoughts all jumbled up. I'm a good listener." JC sat his pen down on the table.

"You're sure you don't mind listening?" Daphne asked.

"I'm positive. When have I ever minded doin' anythin' for you?" JC looked at her like she was crazy.

"I kinda had a fling with Jeff Fordham and that's why I'm currently in a self-induced ban on relationships." Daphne admitted to him.

"I'd offer to kick his ass for you, but I ain't in much shape to kick anyone's ass right now. Daph, we are all young and stupid once. It doesn't make you a bad person that you did somethin' you wanted to do for a change. Believe it or not you don't have to be perfect all the damn time." JC wasn't one to judge anyone else.

"I know that, but it's just out of character for me. And I still don't know why I did it. I don't even particularly like Jeff." Daphne replied.

"You don't think of yourself enough, kiddo. You go with the flow and do whatever is gonna make everyone else happy because you want to be easy. I love Maddie with all of my heart and you know that. But, I know that your parents have had to expend a lot of attention on her a times and you had to go on the back burner. You don't wanna make any waves or cause any problems, but you get to live too. Maddie ain't the only one that gets to do what she wants without thinkin' of how it's gonna affect other people. You used Jeff Fordham to scratch an itch that you had. Good for you. It ain't none of no one else's damn business." JC reached over and put his hand on her knee.

"How did you know what I needed to hear to feel better? My sister is extremely lucky to have a great guy like you that loves her." Daphne smiled at him.

"I'm basically your big brother and it's my job to look out for you." JC smiled back.

"That works two ways you know? If you're my big brother, then as your little sister it's my job to listen to you and help with your problems too. If there's anything that you need to say to me I'll listen and it'll stay between us." Daphne offered.

"Daph," JC cocked his head to the side.

"Jimmy," Daphne stared him down.

"I had a rough deployment this time. It was difficult and we took heavy casualties. Most of it was nothin' that we haven't done before. It was those last few days before we got sent home. I wasn't even sure that I was gonna make it home alive." JC opened up.

"Maddie said that you have some kind of hang up involving kids. What happened there?" Daphne asked. As long as she had him talking she was going to get to the bottom of things.

"Are you sure you wanna hear this? It ain't a pretty story at all." JC stood up and started pacing.

"I want to hear it." Daphne reassured him.

"We went into this village and it was a massacre. I'll spare you the details of that. Anyway we found all these kids huddled together, starvin', and scared to death. There was this little boy and he was just drawn to me. I promised him that everythin' was gonna be ok. We got 'em to an orphanage, but the rebels they bombed it and they took out the chopper that was supposed to get us outta there. We spent five days fightin' for our lives and tryin' to protect those kids that survived. That's the reason I don't trust myself 'round the kids right now. I promised 'em that they were safe and then that happened." JC glossed over a lot of what had happened, but it felt good to get a little of it off his chest.

"What about the wound on your side?" Daphne asked.

"I got that while we were in that firefight. It was pretty deep that's why it still ain't really healed up yet." JC told her.

Daphne nodded her head thoughtfully. "First of all you have to know that none of it was your fault. You did everything that you could and then some. You're not a danger to these kids they all love you so much. Don't shut out the good things in your life just because something bad might happen. If something bad does happen then at least you'll still have the good to hang on to. You need to tell Maddie as much as you feel like you can tell her. You don't have to tell her everything, but for things to work out between you two you both have to be honest with each other. That's how relationships work. If you're both not honest then you can't build a life together."

JC ran his hand over his beard and gave her a small smile. "Don't let this go to your head, but you're pretty damn wise and you always have been. You have good judgment and you need to trust that. I'll talk to Maddie, but the thing is part of the reason she broke up with me is because she's scared of me not comin' back from deployment. How do I tell her what I just told you and expect her to stay by my side?"

"You're just gonna have to have faith in her. I love my sister, but I know that she can be selfish at times. She's not so selfish that she would leave you after hearing what you have to say though." Daphne replied.

"You're right and I'll talk to her soon." JC agreed with her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I just gave you a fun light chapter. JC is finally opening up some on what he's been holding back. Things are gonna move a little quicker for the next few chapters. Until next time please review.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 9

"Daph! Can you get the door for me please? I'm getting dressed." Maddie called out to her sister.

"I got it!" Daphne yelled back.

"If you hadn't seduced me you wouldn't have to worry 'bout gettin' dressed." JC smirked at her.

"I didn't seduce you. I just joined you in the shower while my little sister sat in the other room." Maddie corrected him.

"Gettin' naked and joinin' me in the shower is a pretty good way to seduce me for future reference." JC informed her.

"Maddie! You need to get in here." Daphne yelled again.

"I'll be right back." Maddie walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. "What's going on?"

"You have a letter that can't be given to anyone, but you." Daphne pointed at the messenger who had brought it.

"Maddie Claybourne?" The man asked.

"That's me." Maddie replied.

He handed her a letter. "Consider yourself served. Have a nice day." He let himself out the door.

Maddie ripped the envelope open. "You have to be fucking kidding me."

"What is it?" Daphne asked.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it right now. I'll tell you later. I don't want to get into it before the monkeys get here."

"It's that bad?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah it's that bad." Maddie gritted her teeth.

"What's bad?" JC came out of the bedroom.

"I'll tell you later, babe." Maddie looked at her phone to check the time. "Mom is seriously always late."

"Mom should be here any second. Deac texted for her ten minutes ago and she was close." Daphne replied.

"I'm familiar with the twins texting on her behalf." Maddie chuckled.

A knock sounded on the door.

JC waved both the girls off and went to answer it. "Who is it?"

"It's Jack." Jack answered from the other side of the door.

JC opened the door just a crack. "I don't think I know nobody by that name." He hid a smirk.

"You do too it's your buddy Jack Henry." Jack stamped his foot and put his hands on his hips.

"Oh, it's that Jack. You should have said so to begin with. Come on in." JC laughed and waved him in. "I guess the rest of your posse can come with you." He added for the other three's benefit.

"Look at this I've got all the little terrors in my apartment." Maddie smiled big at them.

"You got the terror part right. That's what took me so long to get them out the door. Your brother and your sister were wrestling each other." Rayna pointed at Jayme and Charlie.

"And let me guess Charlie was winning?" Daphne quipped.

"Don't encourage them, Daphne." Rayna gave her a reproachful look, but there was a twinkle in her eye.

"They don't need any encouragement from anyone. They just do what they are gonna do anyway." JC herded them into the living room.

"Thank you for taking them for a little while, baby girl. You know how much they love you and your daddy and I needed five minutes to ourselves. We love ya'll, but you're a handful." Rayna hugged Maddie and she saw the envelope she was trying to hide behind her back. "Maddie, what's this?" She gently pried it out of her hand.

"Read it and see." Maddie replied.

Rayna scanned the page quickly. "Let the lawyers handle it. Don't get personally involved."

"I planned on it." Maddie nodded her head.

"I love all of you. I'll see you in a little while. Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Jack you four behave." Rayna blew them all a kiss before you made a beeline for the door. She loved her children to death, but she needed a break from them sometimes.

"I asked you guys to come over tonight for a very special reason. This is gonna be our secret from momma and daddy ok?" Maddie spoke to her siblings.

"Ok!" They all agreed enthusiastically.

"We mean this is super top secret and just between the six of us." Daphne added.

"What is it?" Deac was really curious now.

"Next month momma and daddy are gonna be married for ten years. I rented out the Bluebird for the night before their anniversary. I thought that you guys might like to help plan it." Maddie told them.

"Wow, that's a long time." Jayme's eyes got wide.

"That's longer than any of us have been alive." Charlie commented.

"So, do you guys wanna help?" Daphne asked them.

"I help." Jack raised his hand.

"Good deal." Maddie smiled at them.

"I'll get the door that should be the pizza I ordered." JC said when there was another knock on the door.

* * *

"So, you'll never guess what kind of pickle your daughter is in this time." Rayna commented to Deacon while they were out to dinner.

"I won't even bother asking which daughter. The look on your face right now tells me everythin' that I need to know. What has Maddie gotten herself into this time?" Deacon sighed. They normally had a rule that during their date night they didn't talk about the kids. They always ended up breaking it.

"What doesn't Maddie get herself into? This time it wasn't really anything that she did though. Apparently Cash is suing her for using Wild Card on her last album. I thought we had put that chapter of our lives behind us." Rayna ran her hands over her face.

"I know, babe. Just let the lawyers handle it. That's all you have to do. We just won't get personally involved. She can't prove that she had anythin' to do with writin' that song. I wish Maddie wouldn't have used that damn song. I don't like it, but she was tryin' somethin' different." Deacon reached over and grabbed her hand.

"That's exactly what I told Maddie. I guess we are pretty in sync when it comes to this parenting thing." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"It may have taken us a couple missteps, but we got it down now. We can't even go five minutes without talkin' 'bout one of them." Deacon chuckled.

"I don't know why we even made that stupid rule. Those kids are our life. We arrange our tour schedule so they can be with us. I don't understand how some parents are like that. If we didn't have them our lives would be dull." Rayna smiled.

"That's an understatement. I don't know what we would do if we didn't have to break up wrestlin' matches between those monkeys. It ain't just them boys though. That little girl ain't nothin' to mess with. She gives just as good as she gets." Deacon laughed.

"It's because she's been raised with all those boys. Our oldest two girls are ladies the youngest one is a wild thing. I couldn't sneak her into the country club scene. She is your daughter in every sense of the word." Rayna told him.

"And I'm damn proud of that. She'll jump up and volunteer to go fishin' with me before those boys can think 'bout it. Couldn't get her into a dress if our lives depended on it." Deacon replied.

"God no she is not a frilly little princess at all. If I even ask her if she wants to paint her fingernails and toenails with me she runs the other way." Rayna shook her head. She wasn't as close with Charlie as she was with Maddie and Daphne that way. But she made up for it by doing the things with her that she liked to do.

"She's a daddy's girl, Ray. Don't take it to heart. Blame it on Daphne. She treated her like a dress up doll for years and she's had enough of it." Deacon reminded her.

"I'm well aware that she's a daddy's girl and I love it. Seeing the way you are with her absolutely melts me every time. Seeing the way you are with all of them melts me, but the bond you have with her is special. The way you act with her is the way I always knew that you'd be with a daughter." Rayna told him.

"She absolutely has me wrapped 'round her little finger and she knows it. When I hold my hand out and she puts her little hand in mine without question and let's me lead her where we're goin' I'm in awe that she trusts me that much. I love that it don't matter to her where we're goin' or what we're doin' as long as we're together. Charlie is by far our easiest daughter and that's sayin' somethin' with how good Daphne is." Deacon smiled.

"I would love for Daphne to really let loose and be just a little wild. That girl is too good for her own good." Rayna responded.

"We've covered Maddie, Daphne, and Charlie. What 'bout those boys of ours?" Deacon asked.

"Those three boys are something else. Deac is the good one, Jayme is the wild child, and Jack is perfect." Rayna listed.

"Ray, I love Henry and you know that, but you baby him. He's gonna go to college still on your nipple." Deacon gave her a look.

"I know, I know. I baby him so much, but he is my baby. You and the girls tease me mercilessly about the way I am with him. Like ya'll don't baby him just as much as I do. Everyone babies that boy." Rayna sounded indignant.

"I don't baby him as much as you do, Ray." Deacon laughed at the cute little look on her face.

"Whatever, babe." Rayna rolled her eyes at him. "Do you mind if I order a drink with dinner?"

"If you wanna drink get one. Just cause I can't drink don't mean that you can't. I'm fine bein' 'round it." Deacon assured her.

"This is our one adult dinner a week just the two of us and I don't wanna make you uncomfortable." Rayna replied.

"Babe, I figured out a long time ago that it was drinkin' or you. I choose you every damn time no question. You don't have to feel guilty 'bout drinkin' in front of me." Deacon reasoned with her.

Rayna leaned over the table and pecked his lips. "I love you so damn much."

"I love you too, baby." Deacon smiled against her lips.

When the waiter came by their table Rayna ordered a glass of wine and Deacon ordered a sweet tea.

"So, have you gotten our tour arranged yet?" Deacon asked her.

"Yes I do. We are all set to start on Monday. We play the Bridgestone, the football stadium, and the baseball stadium. We also play the Opry since we both have mandatory dates to play anyway. Those are already sold out. I spaced all our performances out over a ten-day period so we don't play them too close together. I'll let you look at the schedule so you can have an idea of what we're gonna be doing. I also gave your band notice so they can start practicing." Rayna reported.

"Damn, babe, you thought of everythin'. I don't know what I would do without you to stay on top of things." Deacon grabbed her hand again.

"I'm sure you'd find a way to make it through the day." Rayna kissed his hand.

"I'm just glad that I ain't gotta try to live without ya." Deacon replied.

"I'm glad that I ain't gotta live without you either." Rayna smiled at him.

* * *

"Oh my God, I love them so much, but they are a handful." Maddie threw herself back on the couch with a sigh once her parents had picked up her siblings.

"They get it from their big sister." JC sat down and put his arm around her.

"When you said that you better be talking about Maddie and not me." Daphne grabbed her purse.

"I don't think anyone could ever think that I meant you." JC laughed.

"Alright, you two that's enough. You aren't gonna gang up on me in my own apartment." Maddie warned them playfully. "Daph, you don't have to run outta here. You're more than welcome to stay."

"Casey and I are gonna hit a few clubs tonight and blow off some steam. She said something about teaching me how to make bad choices the correct way whatever that means." Daphne shrugged her shoulders.

"I think that I may need to go out with you two. I know exactly what Casey means by that and it isn't good." Maddie started to pull herself off the couch with a groan.

Daphne waved her back to her seat. "Maddie, you don't have to go with us. I'm sure that you and Jimmy want to spend some time together because you haven't seen a lot of each for a while. And I let myself in while you two were showering I don't even want to think about it. I'll be fine. Casey is a lot more harmless than we give her credit for. I'll probably end up being her babysitter for the night."

"If you need anything at all don't hesitate to call me. I'll be there as quickly as I can." Maddie told her seriously.

"I know, Maddie. I'm a big girl now believe it or not." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Cricket, let the girl go out and have a little fun without her big sister breathin' down her neck. If she needs anythin' she knows to call us and we'll come runnin'." JC winked at Daphne.

"What he said. And I'm sure that you two need to talk anyway." Daphne arched her eyebrow at JC as a subtle reminder that he needed to tell Maddie what he'd been holding back from her.

"Go have fun. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you about that stupid letter I got tonight." Maddie waved at her.

"I expect full details tomorrow. Love you." Daphne waved at her and walked out the door.

"So, what was in that letter that you wouldn't talk about earlier?" JC asked. The longer he could keep the conversation off of him the better.

"Cash is suing me for royalties to Wild Card. She is claiming that we wrote the song together. I can tell you for a fact that I wrote that song myself. I'm not sure how I'm gonna prove that yet, but mom said to let the lawyers handle it and that's what I'm gonna do. I just didn't think that a mistake I made when I was sixteen would come back to bite me in the ass almost a decade later." Maddie side.

"Your momma is right. You need to let the lawyers handle this one. It's what they get paid for. Like you said you made a mistake and you don't need to repeat by gettin' yourself involved with her again. Even if it is just to get this mess sorted out. Highway Sixty-five has some damn good lawyers on the payroll and they will be able to get this worked out without you havin' to pay that leech a penny." JC seethed silently. After all the years that had passed the thought of Cash still pissed him off like no other.

"Trust me the last thing I want to do is talk to her ever again. She came very close to ruining my life. I didn't my relationship with my dad would ever recover from the damage she helped me do with to it. I could take the easy way out and blame it all on her, but I had a brain and I knew right from wrong I didn't speak up for myself until it was almost too late." Maddie ran a hand through her hair.

"Honey, the only thing that matters is you did the right thing in the end. Your daddy has long since forgiven you and now you need to forgive yourself. You can't keep beatin' yourself up over somethin' you did when you were a stupid kid who thought you knew everythin'. Plenty of teenagers have done worse than that and you don't see them still worryin' 'bout it years later. I did my fair share of stupid shit as a teenager and you don't see me still thinkin' 'bout it." JC scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"This right here is why I have always said that you are too damn perfect. That's some trademark Deacon Claybourne Man Wisdom right there. I think you've been hanging around my daddy too long. It may be the fact that you're inching ever closer to thirty too though. You're gonna be twenty-nine at your next birthday and that's not that far off. My boyfriend is gettin' old." Maddie teased him. She even put on a fake accent at the end.

"First of all I don't know if I've ever told you this, but it's hot as hell when you talk with a southern accent. I ain't gettin' old damn it. You're the one who decided that she wanted to date a guy older than her. You don't get to make fun of me for turnin' thirty before you. For the last damn time I ain't perfect either I'm far from it." JC went the fridge and grabbed himself a beer. He twisted the cap off and threw it away before taking a long swallow from the bottle.

"I know that for whatever reason that fake accent is a turn on for you. You know that I'm just teasing you about the getting old part. And you are perfect to me you always have been and you always will be. Though I think you're protesting that statement for a different reason this time. Do you want to talk about it yet?" Maddie looked at him concerned.

"There was a village full of kids. The rebels had already came through and wiped out all the adults. I promised them that we would get them to safety and they wouldn't have to be scared anymore. We took them to an orphanage so they would be safe, but the rebels hit it with an RPG think of it as a powerful grenade fired from a rocket launcher. They hit the chopper that was supposed to take us out of there with the same thing. We did the only thing we could do we went back to the orphanage and we found a smoldering mess. We dug and dug through the rubble. We saved who we could and made the ones we couldn't save comfortable." JC took another long pull off of his beer. He couldn't bring himself to meet Maddie's eyes. He didn't want to see the disappoint or pity there.

"Jimmy, I'm sorry. I know that you have an extremely difficult job, but that's no reason for you to keep beating yourself up." Maddie spoke to him gently.

JC swallowed hard around the lump in his throat so he could speak again. "The thing is when we picked those kids up from the village there was this little boy and he was drawn to me. He was about Deac and Jayme's age. He called me Captain Jimmy. He survived the blast with minimal injury and I was the one that pulled him out of the rubble. There was this look of contempt on his face when he stared up at me with those big brown eyes like I had betrayed him and set him up to get hurt again. I'll never forgive myself for taking his faith in people away from him."

"Babe," Maddie got up from the couch and put her hands on his shoulders. "Look at me." She put her fingers under his chin and forced him to look at her. "It was not your fault. You didn't blow up the orphanage. You did your best to keep your word. It was nothing that you did or didn't do. I think I can understand why you don't trust yourself around kids right now. I promise you though that there's nothing you can do that'll keep my baby brothers from worshipping the ground you walk on. Nothing you ever do will keep either of my baby sisters from looking to you as one of their protectors. They are safe with you. I'm safe with you. And any children that we have will be safe with you."

JC stared into Maddie's eyes and to his surprise he didn't see the disappointment, pity, or disgust that he'd expected to see. All he saw was warmth, kindness, and love. "You didn't ask me 'bout the wound on my side." Now that he knew she was taking this well he could fully open up to her without fear of rejection.

"What happened?" Maddie led him over to the couch and sat holding his hand.

"I was shot. There's a cut on my back too. A pretty decent slab of concrete fell on me while I was pullin' victims from the rubble and I got cut with the rebar that was in it." JC explained to her.

"I should be furious at you for getting hurt, but you came back home to me in one piece and I'm too damn relieved to be mad at you." Maddie threw her arms around his neck.

JC put his head on her shoulder and he broke down in tears. He was so relieved to finally have it all off of his chest that he was emotionally overloaded. "Thank you, baby, thank you for not givin' up on me."

Maddie made soft shushing noises and stroked his hair gently. "Shh, baby, it's ok. You're safe I've got you. You're right here with me." She kissed the top of his head and just continued to hold him while he got it all out of his system.

* * *

Deacon was taking some rare me time to himself in his home office. It wasn't often that he got to do something like that and he relished the time that he did get to himself. He was a solitary creature by nature. He enjoyed going off by himself to think or to get things sorted out before he talked to Rayna about whatever was on his mind. He didn't get to do that much anymore since they had four kids under the age of ten in the house. He didn't really miss shutting people out and running, but on rare occasion he missed the quiet. He'd rather have his kids than the quiet though.

He looked up from the song he was working on when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Deacon, I hope I'm not disturbin' you or anythin' like that." JC said. He felt like a new man since talking to Maddie the night before. The worst hadn't come to pass the sky hadn't fallen and she hadn't turned her back on him. He knew what he had to do now.

"You are, but that's perfectly ok with me. My door is always open to you, you know that. Come on in and have a seat it looks like you have somethin' on your mind." Deacon waved him into the room.

JC chose to stand. He shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot. "I was actually hopin' that we could talk 'bout somethin'."

"This a man to man talk?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"It is." JC nodded his head.

"You may wanna shut the door then. All my kids love you and if they know you're in here talkin' to me we will never get any peace." Deacon laughed softly.

JC shut the door and just stood there nervously for a moment.

"You know that we can talk 'bout anythin' and I won't judge you. So unless you did somethin' to hurt my daughter and I seriously doubt you did you can talk to me. You ain't gotta be scared that I'm gonna get mad." Deacon put him at ease.

JC ran his hand over his beard and took a deep breath. "I love your daughter very much."

"I know you do and she loves you very much too." Deacon smiled at him. He figured he would get to his point sooner or later until then he would just let him talk.

"Um, I came here today to ask you somethin'. It's a really important question and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't ask you. It's what you do in this situation." JC still wasn't quite there. He picked his fingernails.

"Then just ask me, son." Deacon chuckled lowly.

JC had an internal conversation with himself before he bit the bullet. "I came here today to ask for Maddie's hand in marriage. I know it ain't really done no more, but where I'm from it's what a polite southern gentleman does." He rambled.

"Jimmy, deep breath, calm down, and ask." Deacon had known for a while that this was coming sooner or later.

JC did as he'd been instructed. "Deacon, uh, Mr. Claybourne, may I have your permission to marry your daughter?"

Deacon shut his eyes tightly as they filled with tears. He willed them back and cleared his throat before he spoke. "Before I answer that I have three questions that I wanna ask you first." He hated to keep him in suspense, but he had to do this for his peace of mind.

"Fire away," JC rubbed his hands together.

"Are you sure 'bout this?" Deacon asked even though he already knew the answer.

"I'm positive. I love her more than anythin' in this world and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I wanna raise up a family and grow old with her." JC answered.

Deacon nodded his head satisfied with that answer. "Are you able to take her as she is? She's a woman that has a career and big dreams. I don't wanna see her have to give that all up to go play wife and momma. It's possible for her to have it all."

"I wouldn't want her any other way. I love every part of who she is. She's is the most driven and ambitious woman that I know. I know how hard she's worked to get to where she's at today. I could never dream of makin' her give that up just to take my last name and raise my children while I live out my dreams and she's stuck at home." JC knew exactly what kind of woman that Maddie was and it was what he loved about her. He wouldn't change her for anything in the world.

"Last question. Are you in for life? I need to know that you're in for life and you ain't just gonna leave her when it gets hard. And trust me it will get hard. There are days that you won't even wanna look at her. It's normal, but you need to know goin' in that marriage ain't all sunshine and roses all the time. Even the best marriages have their downs." Deacon had to ask the one last question to know that he was serious about this.

"I'm in this 'til I take my last breath and much longer than that. I get the feelin' that I've loved that woman in this lifetime and every other I've ever lived. If didn't know her I'd spend my life lookin' for her. I came back to Nashville to follow my heart at the time I didn't know that it was leadin' me to Maddie." JC spoke from the heart.

Deacon cleared his throat again. Little did JC know that he had just said everything that he wanted to hear. "In that case, Jimmy. I would be honored for you to be my son-in-law. You have my permission to marry my little girl. Just remember this one thing I loved her first. And despite how deeply I know you love her you will never love her as much as I do."

"I understand. Thank you for thinkin' I'm worthy of her. I respect your opinion 'bout as much as I respect my daddy's. To know you think so highly of me means a lot. I was gonna marry her either way, but I'm glad that you're on board." JC held his hand out to him.

"I know what it's like to have a father-in-law that throws up road blocks every step of the way. And thinks that you're lower than dirt. I know you're a good man with a great heart. I couldn't have picked better for my little girl if I tried. Thank you for lovin' her the way you do and for always doin' your best to do right by her. I knew the day you took the stand in that courtroom and said that you rather know she's ok and not be with her than be with her and see her hurt that if you ever asked me my permission to marry her I was gonna say yes. You proved that you only want what's best for her." Deacon stood from behind his desk. He ignored the younger man's hand. "Put that thing away we're family, we hug."

JC was floored. He knew what it took for a man's man like Deacon to bare his soul like that. "Ok, we hug." He allowed the older man to pull him into a huge hug.

"Just so we're clear if you ever hurt her I'll kill you." Deacon patted his back.

"I know that." JC had no doubt in his mind that Deacon would do just as he said he would. He was not the kind of man that took kindly to anyone hurting his family. It was one of the things that he admired the most about his godfather.

"Oh, boy, Vinny woulda gotten a kick outta this. I'm really sorry that he ain't here to see the fine man you've turned into. I know that you've been strugglin' a bit lately. I'm sure I don't have to say this, but Ray and I have been worried 'bout you. If you need anythin' at all we're here any time of the day or not. You know how much we love you." Deacon could tell he was still a little troubled.

"I know that and I love ya'll too. I've got right what I need at the moment, but if I need anythin' else I will let you know." JC promised him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. JC finally came clean to Maddie and like we all knew already he had nothing to worry about. It looks like Maddie's past is coming back to bite her a little bit, but with Rayna behind her it won't be a problem for long. I hope I did the Deacon and JC scene justice for you guys. I thought long and hard about it before I wrote it. Until next time please review.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 10

"What's going on with you? You've been mighty quiet this morning." Rayna sat down on the dock next to her husband.

Deacon was fishing in the lake behind their house. He didn't really expect to catch anything, but it was a good way for him to clear his head. "Nothin' is goin' on with me. I'm always this quiet."

"Yeah, you're this quiet when you're thinking about something. So, you can either tell me what's on your mind or I can use one of the many tricks I know to get it out of you." Rayna arched her eyebrow at him.

"Jimmy came to see me this morning." Deacon stated flatly.

"What did he want?" Rayna asked. She didn't know why that was some big thing that required him to retreat into himself before talking to her about it.

"He asked me for Maddie's hand in marriage. I asked him three questions and he answered them exactly the way that I wanted him to. So, I told him that he could marry our little girl." Deacon's eyes teared up.

Rayna reached over and held his hand tightly. Her eyes too filled with tears. "This day came a hell of a lot quicker than I thought it would. It seems just like yesterday that the doctor put her in my arms for the first time. I used to think a lot about what she would be like when she grew up and what I wanted for her, but it always seemed so far away it snuck up on me. It isn't even like this comes as a surprise they have been together a long time."

"You think it snuck up on you. One day I found out I was her father and the next I turned around and she was grown. You got thirteen more years with her than I did. I got five to really be her dad. I never got to be her daddy, cause she was too old for that by the time we found out the truth. I got here just in time to let her go. I'm happy that she found such a good man that makes her happy and would do anythin' for her. I feel like I didn't get enough time with her and she doesn't know how much I love her. I know that sounds crazy, but twelve years of bein' her dad ain't long enough. It ain't supposed to be this hard. I ain't supposed to feel like I'm losin' her forever." Deacon finally let a tear slide down his face.

"Aw, babe, she knows how much her daddy loves her and how much she means to you. Don't ever for a second think that she doesn't know that. I know that you didn't get long to be her daddy and I know that you try not to dwell on it, but certain things hit you harder than they do me because of the limited time you had with her. I know you only had five years of making rules for her and helping to shape her into the woman she is now. You had a huge impact in those five years though. It's ok to be sad that our baby girl is gonna be getting married and she's gonna be his wife. But you can be happy knowing that you helped to raise an amazing young woman with a great head on her shoulders. My oldest little girl is gettin' married and I just don't see how that's possible already." Rayna let a few tears fall from her eyes as well.

Deacon wiped his face. "I'm sorry, babe I didn't mean to go all to pieces on you. She's your daughter too not just mine and I ain't the only one havin' feelings right now." He put his arm around her and pulled her into his side.

Rayna leaned her head up against his and took a deep breath. "I'm really happy that she's happy, but she was my first baby and if she's grown up enough to be getting married then I'm getting old, babe."

"You ain't gettin' old. You're just growin' older. I don't think you'll ever get old. To me I'll always see that young woman with all that hellfire and brimstone in her." Deacon reassured her.

Rayna crawled into his lap and straddled him so she could plant a deep lingering kiss on his lips. "That right there is why I love you so damn much. You always know just what to say to make me feel better."

"I love you too, baby." Deacon wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"You know we should probably get back up to that house and see what our spawn are up to." Rayna trusted her kids, but still they were kids and they were known to make messes every chance they got.

"Yeah, we better go make sure that they ain't duct taped the little one to a wall or somethin." Deacon laughed.

"Don't give them any ideas. I'm pretty sure they would duct tape Jack to a wall if they thought they could get away with it." Rayna laughed with him.

Deacon looked toward the house when he heard the door open and the sound of boisterous laughter spill out into the yard. "Don't look now, momma, but I think they found us."

"We can't hide out from them that's for sure." Rayna got off of Deacon and caught Jack in her arms when he launched himself at her.

* * *

The Mile Marker's lunchtime crowd was a mix of blue collar workers and people who worked in the publishing houses and record labels around Music Row. It wasn't very crowded, but it did steady business.

"I just don't understand why we had to come here this afternoon. It's not like we aren't gonna do sound check before the show. I don't know what was so important that he couldn't just wait until then to do it." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Maddie, you know that your boyfriend is superstitious or something. I don't know why you question anything that he does." Daphne told her sister. She had to hide a smirk. She knew exactly what JC was up to.

"You're right." Maddie agreed with a sigh.

JC had the little kids huddled around him in a circle. "Ok, now remember it's your job to keep Maddie distracted until you get the signal and then you get her to turn around and look at me." He whispered to them. He had all of their family and friends gathered up.

"We know." Deac answered for the group.

JC handed a box to him. "When it's time you give this to me."

"I've got it, Jimmy." Deac told him.

"Good, I couldn't do this without ya'll. I'll see you on the other side." JC threw him a salute.

"See you on the other side." Jayme saluted him.

"That's what I wanna hear." JC headed to the stage.

"Casey, it's game time." Charlie went over and whispered in her sister's best friend's ear.

"Alright, we've got this." Casey winked at her. She went over to Maddie. "So, he's being a diva again."

"Yeah, I have no clue what he's up to." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I guess we will see." Casey kept her back turned to the stage.

"Hey, ya'll this is a new one I've been workin' on. I hope you enjoy it." JC started to strum his guitar.

"Here we go, Ray. You ready for this?" Deacon whispered.

"As ready as I'm ever gonna be." Rayna replied.

" _Now he don't expect her to stay true to him and she never says that she will. But he's got a first love that just might kill him. And she knows he's hooked on the thrill. So, she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more. For the fever that drives him to just run its course. She talks to that picture they took their last night together. Says you can't be a cowboy forever, no you can't be a cowboy forever."_ JC began to sing. He'd written this song about him being in the Army. He'd just replaced the word solider with cowboy.

"You doing ok, Babe?" Tandy asked her sister.

"Yeah," Rayna offered a small smile.

"So this is it huh, buddy?" Max put his arm around Deacon's shoulders.

"Yep," Deacon answered dryly.

Hailey was recording this for her parents.

Casey and Daphne kept Maddie talking her attention focused on them.

" _Sometimes he calls her he swears that the ground hurts more than it did yesterday. She knows his voice and he still sounds determined to do whatever it takes. So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more for the fever that drives him to just run its course. The whiskey he drinks said some things last spring that upset her. Lord he can't be a cowboy forever/ No you can't be a cowboy forever."_ JC sang the next verse. He grabbed the mic out of the stand and put his guitar down. He made his way off the stage while his band played their instrumentals.

Deac stood by ready with the box that JC had handed him.

JC took it from him when he got close to him. He gave the little boy a smirk and a wink. _"Then one night he shows up and he says what's for dinner with that cocky grin on his face. The way that she smiled and the way that she held him told him he wasn't too late."_ He got down on one knee and opened the box up to reveal a diamond ring.

Charlie tugged on her sister's sleeve. "Maddie, you need to turn around."

Maddie turned slowly and she gasped and put her hands over her mouth when she saw JC.

" _She closed her eyes and he put that ring on her finger. Said you can't be a cowboy forever. No you can't be a cowboy forever. No you can't be a cowboy forever."_ JC finished his song and tucked his mic in his back pocket.

"Jimmy, what are you doing?" Maddie asked me.

"Madison Miranda Claybourne, my life began the day that I met you. Through all that's come our way over roughly the last ten years we've been there by each other's sides. Cricket, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?" JC took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger.

A tear rolled down Maddie's cheek and she nodded her head. "Yes, Jimmy, I'll marry you." She bent down and kissed him.

Rhett let out a wolf whistle and Will gave a rebel yell.

"I love you so much, baby." JC hugged Maddie to him.

"I love you too." Maddie laughed through her tears.

"I guess I better let you get to showin' that ring off." JC laughed softly.

"Yeah, I got a few people who want to see it." Maddie smiled. She turned away from him and went right to her mother.

"Let me see the ring." Rayna told her.

Maddie held out her hand and flashed her engagement ring at her. "Here it is."

Rayna inspected the ring. It was a five karat square cut diamond with little diamonds all around the band. "He did good. He did really good. Congratulations, baby girl." She hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, mom." Maddie hugged her back.

"My baby brother is an engaged man." Hailey squealed and threw her arms around JC. She kissed his cheek wetly.

"Ugh, Hailey, get off of me." JC laughed and wiped his cheek.

"Momma and daddy are gonna be thrilled they adore Maddie." Hailey kissed his other cheek.

"I really think she's somethin' else too." JC got a big goofy grin on his face.

"Jimmy, you did good." Daphne praised him.

"Thanks, Daph. It turned out a lot better than I expected. Thank you for helpin' get it together so fast. I couldn't imagine askin' her to marry me without the people we love the most in the world here." JC replied.

"She wouldn't have wanted it any other way." Daphne hugged him. "I'm really glad you're gonna be my big brother."

"Me too, kiddo." JC hugged her back.

"Well, JC, you did it." Will grinned.

"I did and I've just gotten your husband off your back for at least a good six months you're welcome. You're kiddin' yourself if you don't think he's gonna be deeply involved weddin' plannin' with my bride to be." JC joked.

"Thank you," Will laughed at that.

"Dad, I'm getting married." Maddie put her arms around Deacon.

"I know and I'm so happy for you, Princess. You're gonna have to forgive your poor daddy if he's a little sad his baby girl ain't a baby anymore." Deacon kissed her cheek and held her close to him.

"Aw, daddy, don't be sad. You're never gonna lose me. I can promise you that." Maddie swore to him. She hugged him just a little tighter.

"Good. You ain't got another choice. You have to stick 'round or I would just go hunt you down." Deacon gave her a small smile.

"I'm not going anywhere. Mom has already put in her order for grandbabies. And since my brothers and sister are so much younger than I am I want my kids to grow up with them." Maddie laughed at the look on her dad's face.

"One thing at a time, Madison. Let me get through this weddin' before you start talkin' 'bout givin' me grandbabies." Deacon groaned.

"Come here, girl, and give your dad a break. You can't get engaged without getting a huge hug from your best guy friend." Mack wrapped her in a bear hug that lifted her off her feet.

"Oh my God, I know. I'm so excited, Mack." Maddie hugged him just as tightly as he was hugging her.

"Alright here we go." Rhett walked over to the table with two trays with champagne glasses on them. "If you're Deacon or Paul take a glass from my right hand that's sparklin' cider for ya'll and kiddos. I poured it myself so there's no need to double check. Everyone else take from the one in my left hand." Like everyone else he was super conscious about checking to make sure Deacon didn't accidentally get alcohol.

"Look at you handlin' those trays like a pro. It's almost like you never quit workin' here." June teased him.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure I did." Rhett laughed.

"That's my star player and my best investment. Let's not have him injure himself bartending." Lamar snorted.

"I'm fine, Lamar. I can carry a couple of trays." Rhett assured him. "Alright father of the bride to be say a few words."

Deacon raised his glass. "Maddie, Jimmy, I'm so incredibly happy for ya'll. I knew the first time I heard you sing The End of the Day together that you had that raw chemistry that made you actual soulmates as well as musical soulmates. What you two have is rare so cherish it every day. I wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness."

Rayna wrapped her arm around his waist and smiled up at him. "That was very well said, baby."

"Thanks, babe." Deacon smiled down at her.

* * *

"Thank you for coming here with me tonight. I know that you don't really want to be here." Daphne looked over at her sister. They were standing on front steps of a house.

"You're my baby sister I would do anything for you. I have nowhere else in the world that I need to be." Maddie smiled at her.

"Still I know that you rather not be here and I do appreciate you." Daphne rang the doorbell.

"Don't mention it and get me out of here as quickly as humanly possible, because I am only doing this for you." Maddie replied.

"There you girls are, come right on in. You didn't have to ring the doorbell. You could have just come in. As far as I'm concerned this is your home too." Teddy had a huge smile on his face as he greeted his daughters. He opened the door wide and let them in.

"We didn't want to just walk in and interrupt anything." Maddie walked in.

"I haven't been here that many times and I don't know where things are without you to show me around." Daphne walked in behind her sister.

"It is so good to see you both." Teddy hugged Daphne and she returned the hug.

"It's good to see you too, dad." Daphne smiled at him.

"It's been awhile." Maddie gave him an awkward hug.

"It's been too long and that's my fault. Things in DC have been absolutely crazy lately." Teddy was now a US senator just like his father. It had taken some doing on Lamar's part, but after five years of fighting he'd managed to get him acquitted of all charges.

"We've both been really busy too. I've been in the studio and Maddie just got off tour not that long ago." Daphne explained.

"Neither one of you have to apologize for having a busy schedule. I know that you come see me when you can." Teddy flashed them another smile. "Do either of you want anything to drink? I have tea, soda, water, wine, and a fully stocked bar with anything you could ask for."

"I could do with a glass of wine. You don't have to wait on me. Just point me in the right direction and I can get it." Maddie tried to loosen up some.

"In the kitchen." Teddy pointed.

"Maddie, as long as you're going I could use a glass too." Daphne told her sister.

"You've got it." Maddie replied. She went into the kitchen and returned a minute later with three glasses of wine. "Here you go." She passed a glass to Teddy and Daphne.

"Thanks," Daphne smiled at her. She wasn't just thanking her for the wine.

"No problem." Maddie smiled back.

"It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that either of you are old enough to drink. It's really hard to see Daphne as being old enough though." Teddy felt every bit his age at the moment.

"Mom says that we are all making her old." Daphne laughed.

"Your mom doesn't really get the luxury of being old. Not with those four little ones running around." Teddy laughed a little.

"Those four are enough to make anyone feel old. I had them the other night and they just have so much energy. I can go on two hours of sleep from being up at an after party before my next concert, but those four tire me out. I don't know how mom and dad do it." Maddie sipped her wine.

"I talked to your mom and she said if I really wanted to feel old that I'd have you tell me whatever news it is you have." Teddy replied.

Maddie flashed him her engagement ring. "JC and I are getting married."

"Maddie, I am really happy for you. You two have been together for a long time. I'm surprised that you waited this long." Teddy was surprised when she let him hug her.

"Well there was this one time about a year and a half ago that we were in Vegas and it almost happened. Casey had to talk us out of it. Which is rare Casey is never the voice of reason." Maddie admitted.

"Or as mom likes to refer to it the worst tour that she ever gave the green light to." Daphne added.

"Yeah, it was a pretty bad idea to put me, JC, and Casey on the same bill. I'll be the first person to admit that." Maddie agreed.

"Your mother would have killed you had you eloped. I'm sure that she wants to make a big spectacle out of your wedding." Teddy laughed.

"She doesn't so much want to make it as spectacle as she just wants to be sure that I get everything that I want." Maddie corrected him.

"I will have to give her a call and see what she's gonna need help with. Good lord knows that this is gonna be expensive." Teddy sighed. He'd been prepared for this since the doctor told them that Maddie was gonna be a girl.

"I'm sure she'll have a list for you. It's what mom and Aunt Tandy do. I get the feeling that there's a big sit down coming on that I'm not gonna like. Even more than I don't like it JC is gonna hate it." Maddie laughed.

"That's putting it mildly. Jimmy is gonna run away." Daphne corrected her.

"I don't think I've ever seen another sister so close to her future brother-in-law." Teddy observed.

"Daphne and Jimmy are old pals. They would do anything for each other. I even got him to scare a few of her boyfriends off over the years." Maddie smiled.

"As if dad wasn't scary enough when he wanted to be. Let's add Jimmy to the mix with his collection of combat scars. It's a miracle that I've ever been able to have a steady boyfriend." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Because you have such a good track record when it comes to boyfriends." Maddie quipped sarcastically.

"I'm not the one who has practically been married to the same guy since I was sixteen. One of us clearly takes after mom." Daphne gave back as good as she got.

"I just can't believe that either of you are old enough to be in serious relationships. It seems like you were both just little girls." Teddy mused wistfully.

"That's what happens when you go to prison during your daughters' formative years." Maddie said before she could check her mouth.

"Maddie," Daphne said her name in a warning tone.

"I was just kidding, Daph. He knows that I was just kidding." Maddie covered quickly.

"If we can't joke around about it together then who can we joke about it with? I'm a politician who has been investigated by federal authorities. If there's not a joke in there somewhere I'm not sure where one can be found." Teddy laughed a little.

"See? He knows that I was joking." Maddie gave her sister a thin smile.

"Or your mouth ran away before you could stop it. With you either one is possible." Daphne arched her eyebrow. She understood why her sister had such a hard time forgiving their dad, but still she didn't have to rub his nose in his past mistakes every time they were together.

"I'm pretty sure it's down on the record somewhere that I'm a horrible daughter. Mom and dad probably started the world record for that a long time ago. First there was the Cash situation that I got myself into and then you'll recall I partied way too much on my first solo tour. It was so bad that mom sent Aunt Tandy out to babysit me. No one wants that." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"God, mom was right you are Little Deacon." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Which is why you're my closest sibling. You're Rayna the second. And we all know that he needs her to keep him in line." Maddie put her arm around her sister's shoulders.

"I liked you so much better before Casey corrupted you." Daphne groaned.

"I don't need Casey to lead me into temptation I know the way by myself." Maddie smirked.

"I think you two were better behaved as kids." Teddy laughed and shook his head at them.

"I'm still well behaved. You might want to have a word with my sister about that." Daphne sipped her wine.

"No thank you, I'll just call your mother on her. I'd threaten to call Deacon, but I know he's about as useless as I am when it comes to you girls." Teddy smiled. He was just happy to have both his children under the same roof as him for a change.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 11

"Mom, you don't have to be here right now. I'm sure that you have better things to do. The lawyers have this under control." Maddie turned in her seat to look at her mother.

"Maddie, I know that you're a big girl now and that you have the lawyers here to handle this mess for you. However, I am still your momma and I'm always gonna worry 'bout you. I'm here because I want to be and I need to be. Nothin' or no one worries me when it comes to you like Cash Gray does. I didn't catch the warning signs before until it was too late. I'm making up for that now. You're just gonna have to deal with it." Rayna crossed her legs. Her skirt with the split in the side rode up to her thigh and she had to pull it back down.

"Ok, no more arguments from me then." Maddie gave her a small smile.

Rayna took her hand and squeezed it. "Everything is gonna be ok, Maddie. I ain't letting her take anything from you. Even though you should be trying to pay other people to take credit for that song. It's every bit as awful as your daddy acts like it is."

"That's really nice, mom." Maddie rolled her eyes playfully.

Rayna squeezed her hand. "You may be a grown up engaged woman now, but it's still my job as your momma and as your label head to tell you that that song is horrible."

"So you have to be brutally honest with me. I get it." Maddie laughed a little.

Hailey walked in dressed in a skirt and blazer. "Sorry I left you two alone in here for so long. I know that's a real good way for a mother and daughter to end up at each other's throats. I was on the phone with my twenty-four-year-old. At least I think that's how old she is. Anyway that child is enough to make me question my oath to uphold the law."

"Hailey, you're not telling me anything I don't know. This one here is enough to make me forget that I won't do well in prison. It would almost be worth it to wrap my hands around her neck sometimes." Rayna agreed with her.

"I'm startin' to think that God gave us daughters to test us. Mine makes me want to apologize to my parents for everythin' I ever did wrong. Let me put it this way. I now understand why momma used to tell Vince and Bobby she brought 'em into this world and she'd take 'em out of it." Hailey took a seat.

"Maybe we should get to the matter at hand before I have to testify in court about this conversation." Maddie spoke up.

"That's a good idea." Hailey shuffled through some papers. "Uh, long story short this is a she said, she said case. There's no way for Cash to prove that she helped you write this song and there's no way for you to prove that she didn't. As a lawyer I'd advised you to settle this out of court and not take the chance that a jury will believe her. As your future sister-in-law I'm tellin' you to fight this with everythin' you've got. You have deeper pockets than she does and you can make this very costly for her. She's caused enough trouble and she shouldn't get paid for that."

"What are our chances if we take this to court?" Rayna asked.

"Like I said ya'll have deep pockets. That makes you a little more unlikable to a jury. They could possibly see this as you just cuttin' costs and not wantin' to pay up. Where we go from here is totally up to you, but I wanted to give you the lay of the land before Cash and her lawyer get here." Hailey explained.

Maddie looked at her mom unsure of how to proceed. "Mom,"

Rayna looked at her daughter thoughtfully and then she pressed her fingertips together. "Fight it, Hailey. Take it to court if you have to. We aren't giving into her without a fight. Let a jury order us to pay her if that's what they want to do. I'm not letting her leech off my daughter any more than she already has."

"Ok, Rayna, I'll do whatever you want to do." Hailey nodded her head. Somehow she'd known that's what her friend's response would be.

Rayna reached over and grabbed Maddie's hand. "If for some reason this doesn't go our way the label will pay out. This is the exact reason we have insurance. I'm not letting her take a dime from you though."

Maddie smiled and squeezed her mother's hand. "Thanks, mom. I really don't deserve you after everything I've done to basically cause this to happen."

"Don't be ridiculous you're my daughter and I'm always gonna protect you. You should know that by now." Rayna replied.

Hailey grabbed the phone off the hook when it rang. "Send them right up. Thank you." She hung the phone up. "Ok, they are here it's show time. You two let me do the talkin'. You're both too emotionally invested in this. I promise you that I know what I'm doin'. I've been a lawyer for a long time now. I don't lose if I can help it."

"Whatever you say, Hailey." Maddie agreed to her terms.

Cash and her lawyer walked in a moment later. It couldn't be said that the years hadn't been kind to Cash she still looked every bit as good as she had a decade before.

"Hailey, it's always a pleasure. If I'd known that I was gonna be going up against you on this one I would have made a list of demands." Steve Milton was in his late thirties.

"The master hasn't surpassed the teacher just yet. Have a seat and let's get down to it. You ain't gonna like me very much when I'm done with you and your client." Hailey pointed to where he and Cash could sit.

"Maddie, it's been awhile." Cash addressed her.

"Cash, I have nothing to say to you." Maddie replied through gritted teeth.

"I would have thought in this length of time you would have put a stop to your mom holding the reins." Cash commented. She was trying to get under Maddie's skin.

"Cash, I believe I told you the last time that I saw you to never talk about my parents again." Maddie did her best to keep her temper in check. She had her father's fiery temper and that was a task sometimes.

"I'm just calling it the way I see it. It's not my fault that you're blind to what's in front of you." Cash countered.

"I'm not blind to anything not anymore. You taught me that lesson the hard way." Maddie retorted.

"I only wanted what was best for you. I can't help it that you wouldn't take my advice." Cash shrugged.

"You mean you were looking out for your bottom line. The minute you saw me your eyes lit up with dollar signs. I guess that's why you decided to come back for more." Maddie ripped into her.

"Steve, I suggest that you advise your client not to speak to mine." Hailey gave the other lawyer a word of warning.

"I'll stop my client if I feel this conversation isn't productive. Maybe they can come to an agreement and save us all some time." Steve replied.

"Maddie, I could have made you so much more than what you are if you had only stuck to the plan." Cash kept talking.

"I think I did pretty damn good for myself. I'm only twenty-five and I have three platinum albums, two Grammys, six CMA awards, and that's just to name a few of my accomplishments." Maddie smirked.

"You have all of that and you can't pay out for a song that we wrote together a decade ago." Cash got in a pretty good shot.

"Cash, you and I both know that you had nothing to do with writing that song. If you had I'd admit to it. I'm not going to take credit for something that I didn't do on my own. I wrote that song though." Maddie dug her fingernails into her palms to keep herself in check.

"Hailey, what do you say that we move this along before it comes to blows?" Rayna suggested. Her oldest daughter could be just like her husband sometimes and she could see that's how this would end if she didn't put a stop to it.

"That's a good idea, Rayna." Hailey nodded her head in agreement. "Steve, give me proof that your client helped right this song and I will entertain the thought of settling out of court."

"You should settle out of court because you know that I'm on the right side of things this time." Steve retorted.

Hailey snorted, "That's not gonna happen. You know me better than that. I taught you everything you know and then some."

"I guess we both better settle in for a long ride then." Steve replied.

* * *

Daphne pushed a cart around the grocery store while she looked at the shopping list in her hand. June was holding her annual Christmas decorating party for all her grandchildren and she needed some help getting the supplies. She would never admit it to anyone, but she needed a little more help these days than she used to.

Daphne wondered down the liquor aisle not really paying attention to what she was doing. It surprised her when she felt a jolt. "I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She apologized quickly.

"Imagine runnin' into you here literally." Joel grinned. He was the one she had run into.

"Joel, I'm sorry about that." Daphne blushed deeply.

"No need to apologize. I never mind runnin' into someone as pretty as you." Joel poured on the charm.

"In that case we might have to try that again sometimes." Daphne flirted back with him.

"So, what brings you to my favorite aisle?" Joel asked her.

"Every year my mawmaw has all her grandkids over to her house to bake cookies, watch Christmas movies, and help her decorate her house for Christmas. For the older grandkids that requires alcohol." Daphne explained to him.

"Let me see that list. Maybe I can make a recommendation or two." Joel gently took the list out of her hand. He looked over the list like he knew what he was talking about. "Ok, I confess I'm just tryin' to talk to you a little longer. I know absolutely nothin' 'bout pickin' out wine. Ask me 'bout whiskey and I'm your guy." He picked up a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"That's my sister's vintage right there. Maddie can really go to town on a bottle of Jack." Daphne laughed.

"I was able to be of some help than." Joel reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"You were, thank you. Just for that the next time we run into each other I will talk to you again." Daphne cleared her throat.

"Or maybe next time doesn't have to be by accident." Joel asked her out without saying the words.

"Joel, that's uh…" Daphne stammered over her words.

"I misread the situation you don't have to say anythin' more. I thought there was somethin' there that clearly isn't. I'll just go before I embarrass myself any further." Joel replied.

"Joel, you didn't misread the situation. I'm just not… It's complicated." Daphne sighed.

"Does it have anything to do with that guy you were talkin' to at the CMAs?" Joel hit the nail right on the head.

"Yes and no. Like I said it's complicated. I don't understand it. I can't explain it to anyone else." Daphne shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll you what. I can wait for you to figure it out." Joel replied.

Daphne had an internal debate with herself for a moment. "Joel, let's run into each other on purpose next time. You have my number surprise me."

"I'll be sure to do that. I'll let you get goin'." Joel flashed her another grin and he pushed his cart away.

* * *

"Alright, little people, let's get a move on. You know that your mawmaw gets testy when we're late." Rhett clapped his hands. All three of his children called June mawmaw. She pretty much insisted on it and he knew that his mother wouldn't mind. Rose would just be glad that he had someone there to give him a mother's love like she couldn't anymore.

"I've got Timmy and Gracie Rose rounded up and ready to go. I'm gonna let you attempt to wrangle Wyatt." Sadie told him.

"Gee, thanks for that, Sadie. You leave the little hell raiser for me." Rhett winked at her to show that he hadn't meant anything by that comment.

"I've dealt with the little hell raiser all day it's his daddy's turn now." Sadie smirked.

"I think I can take my turn with the little monster." Rhett stole a kiss from her.

"Good, you're the one who made him as bad as he is." Sadie laughed.

"Oh no, momma, we aren't gonna blame him on me." Rhett laughed with her.

"Yes we are, daddy. You have him absolutely rotten." Sadie ran her hands up and down his back.

"Don't start somethin' now. We are havin' dinner with my brother and sister-in-law after we drop the crib midgets off. I don't wanna spend from now 'til the time we get home bein' all hot and bothered." Rhett bit his lip.

"I'll make the wait worth your while don't you worry." Sadie put both her hands on his ass and gave it a firm squeeze.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of June's house.

"Alright, kiddos, let's go see mawmaw." Rhett lifted each other his children out of the truck.

"Looks like your brother is already here." Sadie had caught sight of Deacon's truck.

"He probably told Rayna that they were supposed to meet us an hour earlier than they actually were to get her out of the house on time." Rhett put Wyatt up on his shoulders.

"One of these days she is gonna make both of you regret making fun of her all the time." Sadie warned him.

"When any grown woman is as late as she always is she's askin' to be made fun of." Rhett replied.

"I ain't even gonna try to help you anymore." Sadie opened the front door.

"Timothy, don't you and Deac already start wrestlin'." June called out to both her grandsons.

"Momma, are you sure that you want all these little untamed beasts tonight?" Deacon laughed.

"I'm positive. I couldn't think of anyone I rather have to keep me company. I love them so much. You put a bunch of little boys together and they are gonna wrestle it's what happens." June replied.

"You put a little girl in the mix and she's just a liable to join in as her brothers are." Rayna quipped.

"That little girl doesn't take anythin'. She has three brothers she can't." June looked at Charlie who was sitting on the couch innocently at the moment.

"Don't encourage her, momma. She don't need any help." Deacon chuckled.

"Deacon, you 'bout ready to get t dinner?" Rhett asked his brother.

"Gunnar has some concoction that he made up for Rayna to drink and we will go as soon as he finishes that." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"It's not a concoction. It's actually good." Gunnar handed a drink to Rayna. "Don't be too brutal I'm sensitive and everyone picks on me anyway."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Rayna took a sip and then she made a face. "That's actually not terrible it's just strong. Did you get into Deacon's top secret bar book for that one?"

"I don't touch the drinks that come out of that book. I'm pretty sure those drinks are meant to get you so drunk you don't know your own name." Gunnar shook his head.

"That's not what those drinks are supposed to do. The main ingredient in most of them is whiskey. I don't know what you expect. Vince and I wrote the damn thing." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Ray, let me taste that." Rhett took the glass from her and took a huge gulp. "That's pretty good."

"It's whiskey and amaretto." Gunnar told him.

"Ok, let's get out of here before Rhett and Rayna are drunk before dinner." Sadie said.

"I agree." Deacon nodded.

"All of you who aren't supposed to be here right now get goin' 'fore I kick ya out." June joked with them.

"I hear ya, momma. We will be back for the ankle biters in the mornin'." Deacon laughed.

"I just may keep 'em. From what they tell me ya'll are horrible to them." June winked.

"Oh yeah, we just mistreat them so much. Especially that little one. He doesn't have everyone wrapped 'round his little finger or anythin' like that." Rayna rolled his eyes.

"Mom, don't even go there. You need to go before we have this conversation yet again." Maddie laughed.

"Maddie, don't you dare start." Rayna pointed her finger at her.

"Whatever you say, mom." Maddie grinned.

"Maddie, you of all people have no room to talk about the way she spoils Jack. I seem to recall that she is still the same way with a certain older sister of mine." Daphne gave her a look.

"Daph, you forget that I have dirt on you. You don't want to mess with me." Maddie countered.

"That's enough outta both of you." June warned them.

"Daphne, come help me make the hot chocolate while your sister helps Gunnar bring the boxes up from the basement." Scarlett waved her cousin over.

"Deac, Jayme, Jase, and Timmy, ya'll come help me and Gunnar bring the stuff up." Maddie delegated to her little brothers and cousins.

"We best go while they're busy." Deacon threw his arm around Rayna's shoulders.

"Let's go. You can drive." Rayna leaned against his side.

* * *

After dinner Rayna, Deacon, Sadie, Rhett, Tandy, and Bucky headed over to the Exit Ramp. They sat on the upper level in the section that they normally reserved for VIPs.

"I love my kids. Lord knows that I love my kids, but it is so nice to have a break from them sometimes." Rhett sipped his whiskey.

"At least you get a break from them, lover. I'm with them even when I'm out on tour. When you're out on one of your road trips you get to do whatever it is you do after you're done with your games." Sadie arched her eyebrow at him.

"I sit in a damn hotel room and watch movies most of the time. If I'm really feeling crazy I order room service and eat in bed. Then I have them bring me a ton of pillows cause I don't know how to sleep without you and three monsters in the bed with me." Rhett informed her.

"Yet you complain when they are in the bed." Sadie shook her head.

"No, I complain about the feet in my ribs." Rhett corrected her.

"That sounds like Deacon." Rayna put her hand on her husband's knee.

"I never said that I mind the kids bein' in the bed or the fact that they put their feet in my ribs. My problem is the fact that Jack has pretty much taken up residence in our room. I love that little boy more than anythin' in this world, but I miss momma and daddy alone time." Deacon retorted.

"He just looks so sad and pathetic sometimes. It's really hard to tell him no." Rayna knew that she had a soft spot when it came to her youngest child and she wouldn't deny it.

"With Deac and Jayme she would turn them in for murder, but with Jack she would just tell everyone that he was with her." Tandy laughed.

"You've got that right." Deacon agreed.

"Everyone acts like they don't baby that boy just as much as I do." Rayna crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ray, you take the cake. I hate to have to be the one to tell you that." Bucky pointed out to her.

"I don't know why I want to hang out with any of you. Honestly all you do is give me a hard time." Rayna bit her lip to hide a grin.

"Sadie, I think that someone needs to examine our heads. We married into this insanity knowing that it was never gonna change." Bucky said.

"At least they keep things interesting." Sadie shrugged her shoulders.

Rhett pulled her to him and kissed her cheek. "Damn right we do."

"Bucky, I know that you don't want to sleep on the couch for the rest of your natural life." Tandy glared at him.

"It wouldn't be the first time. It wouldn't even be the first time this week. If a week goes by without you telling me to go sleep on the couch I start to worry." Bucky replied.

"I don't know why you like being married to her. I don't even like being around her most of the time and she's my damn sister." Rayna couldn't pass up the chance to get a dig in.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I don't know how Deacon puts up with you. I'm a bitch, but at least I'm honest about it. You on the other hand are a spoiled princess. And he has to cater to you all the time." Tandy gave back as good as she got.

"I'm not a damn princess. I don't know why everyone always has to call me that. I will concede that Maddie is a princess big time, but I'm not. And you just said something nice about Deacon. You never have anything nice to say about Deacon." Rayna got her dander up.

"Where do you think Maddie gets it from?" Tandy smirked.

"We came to the agreement that she owes me for makin' her an aunt. So every now and then she has to take my side." Deacon explained.

"Tandy had to be drunk for you to get her to agree to that." Rayna didn't even want to think about what her husband and her sister talked about together.

"Pretty much," Tandy sipped her drink.

"Speakin' of my niece. Deacon, how's it feel knowin' that Maddie is gettin' married?" Rhett asked.

"Rhett, let's not go there. I know that Jimmy is your friend and I love the boy like a son, but this is my little girl." Deacon shuddered at the thought.

"Don't let your little brother give you a hard time. He's crazy about his nieces. Make him tell you what he said to Jimmy." Sadie stepped in.

"What in the world did you say to Jimmy, Rhett?" Rayna asked him.

"Nothin' too bad. We just had a little uncle to future nephew chat. I told him if he ever hurt my niece that I have a hundred mile an hour fastball and I never miss. I also said somethin' along the lines of I'm a power hitter and if I can crush a tiny baseball comin' at me at a hundred miles an hour his head would be no problem for me. Typical uncle stuff." Rhett admitted.

"No, that's not typical uncle stuff. That's more like big brother stuff. It's wasn't even big brother stuff it was more like mob stuff. Because you also told him that you have a posse and that ya'll will gladly hunt him down and make him sorry that he's a man. You also said that he wouldn't have any backup because even the hockey player is on your side." Sadie added.

"Nicely done, baby brother." Deacon praised him.

"Of course he doesn't find anything wrong with that. That's something that he would say to someone." Bucky laughed.

"I don't find anything wrong with it either." Tandy agreed with Deacon.

"Tandy, you thought it was a good idea to keep a man's daughter from him. I think you win about who's the worst." Rayna pointed out to her.

"But you do you know who I call when I think the girls need straightening out? I call their daddy. Deacon parents a hell of a lot more calmly than you do." Tandy zinged her.

"This is why when it comes to the who is the favorite aunt or uncle I win. I have never told on one of them. I handle it myself." Rhett joked around.

"Rhett, you barely count as an uncle. You're only eight years older than Maddie. You're more like a big brother." Tandy pointed out to him.

"Ok, you two put your measuring sticks away." Rayna laughed at them and shook her head.

"She stopped fighting with Deacon and started fighting with Rhett." Bucky chuckled lightly.

"I guess one Claybourne brother is as good to fight with as the other." Rayna mused.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 12

"Maddie, it's really lookin' good in here. I can't believe you managed to pull this together so quickly." Scarlett commented to her cousin as she looked around the Bluebird.

"Neither can I. I had originally planned to do this the night before their wedding anniversary, but dad needed it that night instead because he has a surprise for mom. He swapped nights with me and he still has no clue that this is for him. I worry about the man sometimes." Maddie laughed.

"He's really very trusting of us and he shouldn't be." Scarlett agreed.

"Maddie, which picture of mom and dad do you wanna sit on the bar? This one or this one?" Daphne showed her sister two different pictures.

"I don't know. I like their wedding photo, but that picture of them on his Harley really captures who they are as a couple. It's just so them with their matching leather jackets and sunglasses. On most people that would look lame, but they manage to pull it off." Maddie debated with herself.

"I think the one on his bike for sure. Like you said it's them." Scarlett weighed in.

"I agree. I also have one of him looking at her the way he does." Daphne said.

"I know exactly what you're talking about. The way he looks at her like the sun comes up in the morning because she makes it so. Use that too." Maddie replied.

"Where are your brothers and sister?" Scarlett asked.

"I'm not on munchkin duty for once in my life I wouldn't know." Daphne shrugged her shoulders.

"Jimmy has them. He gave them an extra special project to keep them entertained while we get this stuff done. Thank God those kids are so obsessed with him. They do whatever he tells them to." Maddie pointed over to where her brothers and sister sat with JC.

"All the kids love him. He's like everyone's big brother or somethin'. How are you gettin' your momma and daddy here tonight?" Scarlett replied.

"We are leaving that up to Aunt Tandy and Uncle Bucky. It's easier for those two to get them here without them suspecting anything." Maddie explained.

"Maddie, I just picked up the champagne flutes that you had special ordered. What do you want me to do with them?" Rhett asked.

"Put them at the table where we have mom and dad sitting. Let me see them first though." Maddie replied.

Rhett carefully opened the box that they had come in. One of the flutes said Mr. Claybourne in cursive script and the other said Mrs. Claybourne. "Those turned out really nice."

"They did. I think I may do something like that for my wedding reception." Maddie nodded her head.

"Jimmy, do you hear this? Your woman is already bein' Bridezilla." Rhett called out to JC.

"That's her show. The only thing I'm gonna do is show up dressed at the place and time she tells me." JC retorted.

"Babe, if you could be that smart you wouldn't always be in trouble." Sadie teased him.

"You ain't as hard to please as my niece is either though." Rhett pointed out to her.

"Rhett, I will kick your ass." Maddie warned him.

"I ain't scared. You only think that you can take me." Rhett bantered back.

"Baby Brother, don't pick on our niece." Beverly said as she walked in.

"Oh joy, the wicked witch of the south is here." Rhett rolled his eyes playfully.

"Don't any of you act like you're happy to see me or anythin'." Beverly put her hands on her hips.

"Hi, Aunt Bev." Daphne gave her a big hug.

"Look at how grown up you are now." Bev took her face in her hands and kissed both her cheeks.

"Hey, Aunt Bev." Maddie hugged her.

"Let me see that ring." Beverly told her.

Maddie flashed her engagement ring at her. "Here it is."

"Maddie, that is gorgeous. Congratulations. He did good. You better keep him. I haven't got to talk to your daddy 'bout it yet, but I'm sure he's freakin' out." Beverly smiled widely.

"He is freaking out a little bit. He's playing it cool though. We will see how he acts when we set a date." Maddie replied.

"Hi, momma." Scarlett greeted her mother.

"There's my baby girl. I've missed you." Beverly gushed over her.

"I've missed you too." Scarlett hugged her.

"Jase, Riley, ya'll go hug your grandma." Gunnar instructed his kids.

"Hey, Gunnar, it's good to see you, son." Frankie offered him his hand.

Gunnar shook his hand. "Good to see you too, Frankie."

"Hi, mawmaw." Jase and Riley said in unison.

"Look at my babies." Beverly hugged both of them to her sides. "Ya'll are gonna have to stop growin' so much."

"Check this guy out." Frankie lifted Jase up.

"Grandpa Frankie," Jase threw his arms around his neck.

"Let's get your sister in on this." Frankie stooped down and picked Riley up.

"I missed you, Grandpa Frankie." Riley hugged him too.

"When are the love birds gettin' here?" Beverly asked.

"They should be here in a couple hours if Aunt Tandy does her job right." Maddie told her.

"There's a doubt in your mind that she will?" Gunnar asked.

"No not really. Aunt Tandy said she would get them here and she will. We just need to be ready. We don't have that much more to do thank God." Maddie answered him.

"Ok, let's get this finished then." Beverly said cheerfully.

"Not even back in town ten minutes and already she's givin' orders like she's still the manager at the Mile Marker or somethin'." Rhett shook his head.

"Rhett Timothy, be nice to your sister." Sadie scolded him playfully.

"I ain't ever nice to Bev if I was she would think somethin' was wrong with me." Rhett gave her a cheesy grin.

* * *

"Babe, I swear you are gonna be late for your own funeral." Tandy sat on the edge of her sister's bed waiting for her to get dressed.

"Tandy, I have to look my best. You know if I don't I'll be all over the tabloids." Rayna sat at her vanity doing her makeup.

"I honestly don't know how the hell Deacon puts up with you. You kill me bein' so damn slow." Tandy crossed her legs.

"If you would tell me where we're goin' that would help me get ready a little faster." Rayna looked over her shoulder at her sister.

"We're going to the Bluebird. You know how to dress for that." Tandy replied.

"You and Bucky sprang this on us at the last second. You know how much time I need to get ready." Rayna pointed out to her.

"I'm well aware how much time it takes you to get ready. You take after mom that way." Tandy smiled fondly at the memory of their mother.

"I remember sitting on her bed watching her get ready to go sing. That's when I knew what I wanted to do." Rayna let herself get lost in her memories for a moment.

"It's hard to believe that she's been gone so long isn't it?" Tandy mused.

"It really is. Sometimes it seems like no time has gone by and other times it feels like it has been forever." Rayna applied blush to her cheeks.

"She would have been so proud of you. And she would have loved the fact that you gave her so many granddaughters." Tandy replied.

"I know it. Unlike you and daddy she would have actually liked Deacon." Rayna teased.

"She would have. She would have told you to stick it out with him when you found out you were pregnant with Maddie. I know that I couldn't replace her, but I did my best to be the mother you needed. I only ever told you to do what I thought was best for you." Tandy finally opened up about that particular subject.

"That's water under the bridge. You have done a damn good job or being my big sister, my mother, and my best friend. I don't know what I would do without you. I don't know what any of my kids would do without you. You are the best aunt that they could ask for." Rayna assured her.

"You know how much I love all of them. I couldn't love them more if I'd had them myself." Tandy told her.

"I never for one second have doubted how much you love those kids. Even if Jack doesn't ever wanna stay with you because you actually make him behave." Rayna laughed softly.

"I am well aware that he doesn't like to stay with me. Though he straightens up when I tell him that he can go stay with pawpaw if he doesn't wanna stay with me." Tandy laughed.

"None of them and I do mean none of them like to stay with daddy. He withholds their sugar supply and won't let them make a lot of noise." Rayna retorted.

"I don't know why you of all people would think that they would like staying with daddy. They are half you and half Deacon. You and daddy couldn't get along so you left home at sixteen. And Deacon and daddy just tolerate each other for your sake." Tandy pointed out to her.

"In all fairness he threw me out." Rayna corrected her.

"He didn't exactly throw you out. He told you abide by his rules or get out. You kinda made the choice." Tandy reminded her.

"You were there, babe. I was standing on the rug in front of the stairs and he told me I had five minutes to take what I could and get out. If you'll recall he also wouldn't let me take my car and he sold it." Rayna countered.

"My God I just did what I always do didn't I?" Tandy asked her.

"Yeah, you did." Rayna got up from her vanity and walked into her closet.

"At some point in my life I might stop defending him for the horrible things he's done. It was just me and him side by side for so long that I got into a habit." Tandy groaned.

"And if not don't worry about it. It's daddy he makes us both crazy and we are middle aged women." Rayna pulled her t-shirt off and threw it towards the hamper.

"Are you finally gonna admit your actual age?" Tandy teased her.

"No, I am twenty-nine." Rayna retorted.

"More like twenty-nine plus twenty-two." Tandy corrected her.

"Shut up, Tandy." Rayna flipped her off.

"Ya'll 'bout ready in here?" Deacon stuck his head in the door. He was dressed in a dark blue dress shirt and jeans.

"Yeah, babe, I just have to put some clothes on and I will be ready to go." Rayna smiled at him.

"Great, I will let Bucky know then." Deacon nodded his head. He did a double take when he realized that she just had her bra on to cover the top half of her body. "Ray, your sister is gonna have to go wait downstairs with her husband if you're gonna be dressed like that."

"Deacon, we don't have time for you two to have your way with each other like you normally do. So for the sake of removing temptation I'm gonna stay right where I am." Tandy arched her eyebrow at him.

"Damn, Jayme is right 'bout you. You really are a fun sucker." Deacon laughed.

"One of us has to be an adult around here. And like always it's me." Tandy told him.

"Much rather it be you than me. At least I still get to have fun." Deacon shrugged.

* * *

Maddie checked the text that had just come in on her phone. "Ok, Aunt Tandy just texted me and said that they are five minutes away. Let's get ready." She said to her brothers and sisters.

"We're on." Daphne turned to Deac and helped him put his guitar strap around his neck. "That feel ok for you?"

"I'm good, Daph." Deac fixed his shirt collar so the strap would lay right.

"Jayme, Charlie, are you both good?" Maddie checked in with them.

Jayme adjusted his microphone stand. "Yep,"

"I'm perfect." Charlie gave her the thumbs up.

Maddie chuckled softly. She couldn't get over how big her brothers and sisters were getting. "Alright, and what about the littlest Claybourne?"

JC adjusted the mic stand for Jack. "I think he's good to go."

Jack nodded his little head. "I good."

JC gave him a high five. "Break a leg, ya'll." He blew Maddie a kiss and stepped back.

"Deacon's truck just pulled in." Rhett reported.

"Here we go." Beverly said.

Tandy and Bucky walked in ahead of Rayna and Deacon.

"What in the world is all this?" Rayna asked.

"I'm as lost as you are on this one." Deacon replied.

"You'll just wait a minute and you'll see." Tandy told them.

"Here, ya'll are gonna need these." Rhett handed them the champagne glasses that he had picked up earlier.

"Ok, Deac, just follow me." Maddie told her brother as she started strumming her guitar.

Deac followed suit.

" _We were young and restless pockets full of stars. Chasing down the moonlight 'til the night was ours."_ Maddie started singing. A video screen behind her started flashing pictures of Rayna and Deacon together over the years.

" _All we ever wanted all we ever needed was love."_ She and Daphne harmonized.

"Look at 'em, Ray." Deacon wrapped his free arm around his wife.

"I see 'em, babe." Rayna leaned into his side.

" _You think you have the answers when you're just a kid. We took a lot of chances. Oh, the things we did. All we ever wanted all we ever needed was love."_ Maddie and Daphne continued.

" _Sometimes those memories can be hard to take. We all remember the time before you ever felt your heart break. You never were the same."_ They all sang the chorus together.

" _I won't make excuses I have no regrets. I know what the truth is. I will not forget. All we ever wanted all we ever needed was love."_ Maddie and Daphne took over again.

" _Sometimes those memories can be hard to take. We all remember the time before you ever felt your heart break. And you never were the same. All we ever wanted all we ever needed. All we wanted all we ever needed was love."_ They finished in unison.

JC handed each person on stage a glass.

"Mom, dad, I can see from the looks on your faces right now that you don't really know what's going on. Well, we got together and decided that we couldn't let your tenth anniversary pass without doing something to celebrate. So, we came up with this." Maddie gestured around the room.

"She uses the word we like she gave the rest of us a choice." Daphne joked.

Maddie gave her a playful glare. "Anyway. The Bluebird is a special place for our family. It's where this whole crazy roller coaster ride got started. A young broke guitar player took one look at the future queen of country and fell in love. It's where he proposed and she finally said yes. I couldn't think of a more fitting place to celebrate their tenth anniversary."

Daphne raised her glass. "Happy anniversary, mom and dad. Every day you show us all what true love looks like even when it's messy and imperfect."

Maddie clicked glasses with her sister. Everyone toasted Rayna and Deacon. "Alright, you four little munchkins go do something with yourselves. Daph and I have something that we need to do." She shooed the little ones off stage with a laugh.

"Come here, ya'll." Deacon wrapped all four of his younger children in a bear hug.

"Ya'll did so good." Rayna kissed their heads.

"You surprised, momma?" Jack asked her.

"I am so surprised." Rayna lifted him up into her arms.

"Daphne and I have one more little present for you. If you don't like it remember I only wrote half of it." Maddie joked.

"Maddie, shut up and start playing." Daphne rolled her eyes playfully.

Maddie laughed and started strumming her guitar again. _"We were both young when I first saw you. I close my eyes and the flashback starts. I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air. See the lights see the party the ball gowns see you make your way through the crowd and say hello. Little did I know. That you were Romeo you were throwing pebbles and my daddy said stay away from Juliet. And I was crying on the staircase begging you please don't go."_

"They pegged us good with that one didn't they." Rayna whispered her lips against Deacon's ear.

"Absolutely." Deacon agreed with her.

" _And I said Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting all that's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess. It's a love story baby just say yes."_ The sisters sang the chorus together.

" _So I sneak out to the garden to see you. We keep quiet cause we're dead if he knew. So close your eyes escape this town for a little while. Cause you were Romeo I was the scarlet letter and my daddy said stay away from Juliet. But you were everything to me I was begging you please don't go."_ Daphne took the next verse.

"Oh boy, I don't know what we're gonna do with the two of 'em." Deacon laughed and a blush crept up his cheeks.

"I say we let 'em be and don't change a thing." Rayna replied.

" _And I said Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting all that's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess. It's a love story baby just say yes. Romeo save me they're trying to tell me how to feel. This love is difficult, but it's real. Don't be afraid we'll make it out of this mess. It's a love story baby just say yes."_

" _I got tired of waiting. Wondering if you were ever coming around."_ Maddie sang.

" _My faith in you was fading when I met you on the outskirts of town."_ Daphne took that line.

" _And I said Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone. I keep waiting for you but you never come. Is this in my head? I don't know what to think. He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said. Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone. I love you and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad go pick out a white dress. It's a love story baby just say yes. Cause we were both young when I first saw you."_ Maddie and Daphne sang together to finish.

"Come here, my girls." Rayna held her arms open to them when they walked off stage. "That was perfect, thank you so much."

"You're welcome, mom." Maddie hugged her.

"The smile on your face is worth the time I had to spend with Maddie to write that song." Daphne hugged her mother too.

"What's this? Ain't no one got any love for daddy?" Deacon teased them.

"Of course." Maddie kissed his cheek.

"Like we are gonna leave you out in the cold." Daphne kissed his other cheek.

"I love ya'll so much. Thank you for doin' this." Deacon kissed them both on the head.

"Thank you for being such an incredible husband and father. Because of you I know not to settle for less than amazing." Maddie told him.

"Maddie's right. You show us every day how a man should treat the woman he loves. As a father it's impossible for any man any of your girls get with to ever measure up. You make time for each and every one of us so we don't feel left out." Daphne added.

Deacon blushed. "Alright, that's enough." He still couldn't just take a compliment.

"Are you girls embarrassing your daddy? He's got a pretty good blush going on right now." Rayna teased them.

"Hell yes they are." Deacon answered for them.

"The man can't take a compliment. It's really not our fault, mom." Maddie defended herself.

"They love you as much as I do, baby. You need to let 'em tell you that." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

Deacon kissed her softly. "I know that. They were just comin' on a little strong, baby."

"Daph, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna need something stronger than this champagne to deal with their love fest tonight." Maddie announced.

"Rum and coke?" Daphne asked her.

"That'll cut it for you maybe. I'm thinking of something a little stronger that comes in a bottle with a black label and shares a name with our youngest brother." Maddie corrected her.

"Straight up on the rocks?" Daphne asked.

"Yep, that's what I was thinking." Maddie nodded her head.

"I'll get it for you. Looks like you've once again taken up your quest at being drunker than anyone has ever been before." Daphne rolled her eyes and walked to the bar.

"You are your father's daughter." Rayna commented.

"What are you talking about?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Double shot of Jack on the rocks and I knew that he was drinking slow that night I didn't have to worry about him getting into a fight. Double shot straight up and there was very good chance that we would either be visiting the hospital or the local jail because he got out of hand." Rayna answered.

"Know your limit, Maddie. You have a father and a grandfather who are alcoholics and their drink of choice is whiskey." Deacon cautioned her.

"I know, dad, you don't have anything to worry about." Maddie smiled at him.

"I'll always worry that I passed those damaged alcoholic genes down to you kids. You've got somethin' I didn't have though. You've got me there to pull you back if I see you slippin' over the edge." Deacon smiled back at her.

"Maddie, how 'bout you stop hoggin' my baby brother. You get to see him all the time." Beverly made her way over.

"You can have him, Aunt Bev." Maddie laughed.

"Baby Brother," Beverly opened her arms to Deacon.

"Hey, Beverly." Deacon hugged his sister.

"I sure have missed you." Beverly told him.

"I've missed you too. You done went and got you a record deal and started tourin' all over the country with that boyfriend of yours." Deacon teased her.

"You can blame your wife for that one." Beverly replied.

"Don't blame me. I didn't make up your touring schedule. That's all you and Frankie." Rayna laughed softly.

"Didn't my brother tell you that I can't take the blame for anythin'?" Beverly joked.

"Ok, before this gets heavy we need to go make our rounds." Deacon took Rayna by the arm.

"You didn't have to do that. We weren't gonna get into it or anything like that." Rayna assured him.

"I know that. But you also know that I tolerate my sister better in small doses." Deacon pointed out to her.

"You are so bad." Rayna laughed and clutched his arm tighter.

"Congratulations, ya'll. Ten years is a big deal." Paul walked up to them.

"Thanks, Paul." Deacon smiled a little.

"That's sweet of you, Paul. Thank you for coming." Rayna told him. She could handle him better than anyone.

"I don't even have any good advice to give out. Ya'll just keep doin' what you're doin'. You're better at this whole love and marriage thing than I am." Paul replied.

"We are alright at it. I guess anyway." Deacon winked at him.

"Here's our secret. It ain't love if you ain't thought about murder. It's cheaper and easier than divorce." Rayna shrugged playfully.

"Now you know why I keep her happy and why I sleep with an ice pick in my nightstand." Deacon laughed.

"Deacon John, you better mind your manners and be sweet to your wife. I don't know why she has put up with you for so long." June told him.

"Momma, just once could you pretend that you don't like Ray better than me?" Deacon shook his head.

"No, there would be absolutely no fun in that. She already knows that if she chooses to divorce you not only am I takin her side that I get her in the settlement." June retorted.

"I blame this on you and Tandy. She has been hangin' 'round you two too much." Deacon shook his head again.

"That's probably the case." Rayna just smirked.

"I'll leave ya'll alone. I have to go make sure that Lamar behaves himself 'round Jimmy." June excused herself.

"She's the only person on the face of this earth that can handle my daddy." Rayna had a bit of admiration in her voice.

"And trust me we all love her for it." Deacon threw out there.

Scarlett got up on the stage with her glass in her hand. "I'll get this over with early so I don't have to sit and dread it for the rest of the night. The only reason I'm doin' this is because I love my cousin and she could sell a bible to an atheist." She joked. "Ten years ago I was my uncle's best man when he finally married the love of his life. That should tell ya'll that he really has no friends and I'm one of the only people who can deal with him."

"She's just askin' for it." Deacon whispered in Rayna's ear.

"Hush, you ain't gonna do anythin' to her and we both know it. She's one of your girls." Rayna put her hand on his knee.

"The love that these two have for each other amazes me every day. They are true partners in every sense of the word. I remember when Gunnar and I cut our first album together and we were all over the place about who to credit with what. Uncle Deacon pulled out this binder of all the songs they'd ever written together and on the by line was both of their names. He told me somethin' then that I have carried with me ever since. It doesn't matter who wrote what or who did what when one of you shines you both shine. I'm extremely lucky to have them for an aunt and uncle and my kids are lucky to have them for what amounts to a second set of grandparents. So, here's to my Aunt Rayna and Uncle Deacon. See if you can't make it another ten years without killin' each other." Scarlett finished her toast. She walked down off the stage and kissed both Rayna and Deacon on the cheek.

"You did good." Deacon praised her.

"Shut up, you know how much I hate speakin' in public. There's a reason I sing and I don't give speeches." Scarlett muttered.

"That was very well done, Scarlett." Rayna told her.

Tandy got up on stage next. "What can I say about my sister and brother-in-law that will do them justice? I could say that they are both stubborn mules that can't be reasoned with when it comes to each other. I could say that it's obvious by the amount of children they have that they can't keep their hands off each other. I could question Rayna's taste in men by going after the first dirty guitar player that looked her way. I won't say any of that though in the spirit of being nice and everything." She started her speech with a joke.

"Just so you know. I'd be willing to look the other way while you strangled my sister." Rayna leaned her chin on Deacon's shoulder.

"Sorry, can't help you there, babe. You know that I don't advocate violence against women." Deacon chuckled.

"I have to say the dirty guitar player makes my baby sister happier than I have ever seen her. The two of them managed to bless me with four more nieces and nephews to spoil rotten. Everyone should as lucky to have a love like theirs. They really are an inspiration to all of us. I know that I'm the older sister, but on this one thing I look up to my little sister. Rayna, Deacon, here's to you. I hope you both drive me crazy for years to come." Tandy finished her toast with a smile.

"I know how hard that was for you. I really appreciate it." Rayna hugged her sister.

"Just be glad I love you so much." Tandy winked at her.

Deacon wrapped Tandy into a bear hug. "You love me and you know."

"Deacon, put me down or I will tell your mother on you." Tandy pointed a threatening finger at him.

"Ok, ok, damn you ain't gotta do me like that, Tandy." Deacon laughed and sat her back on her feet.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long lately. Until next time please review.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 13

"Alright, let's get down to business here." Rayna and Deacon sat next to each other on the living room couch. Jack and Dixie sat across from them. Teddy was in an arm chair and Maddie and JC sat on the other couch. They were trying to get some things hashed out when it came to Maddie and JC's wedding.

"I still don't see why I have to be here right now. There are fish out on the lake callin' my name. Ya'll can just send me the bill for it later. I already know that I'm payin' for Cinderella's fairytale weddin'." Deacon grumbled. He didn't care how cold it was outside he much rather be fishing.

"I agree with Deacon. We will go fishin' and I will happily go along with whatever my bride to be decides on." JC went to get up.

"Sucking up to your future father-in-law does not give you immunity from sleeping on the couch. That's not the Claybourne you need to make happy." Maddie flashed him a look.

"Deacon, act your age and not our toddler's age." Rayna gave him a withering look.

"Personally, I don't see anythin' wrong with goin' fishin' either. This is somethin' best left to you women folk." Jack chimed in.

"Jackson," Dixie warned him.

"Damn woman never lets me have any fun." Jack sighed loudly.

"I'm just here to write checks." Teddy said.

"I think Ray and I got that part covered." Deacon was not at all happy about Teddy being there.

"Ok, let's start simple. Do you two have a date in mind?" Rayna asked.

"We want to get married in June. It'll be ten years that we've been together then. We thought it would be cool to bring it full circle." Maddie answered.

"That's a really cute idea, Maddie. A June wedding will be so amazing. It won't be too hot or too cold. You have better color options and we are just gonna have a field day with that." Rayna smiled excitedly. Now that she had come to terms with the fact that she wasn't really losing her daughter, she was excited to plan this wedding with her. "Have you thought about a venue?"

"I vote barefoot in the backyard in jeans and t-shirts." JC said.

"Jimmy, I really will make you sleep on the couch." Maddie glared at him.

"I will just stop talkin' now." JC hung his head.

"You've already figured out the first rule of marriage. You're doin' good, son." Jack reached over and slapped his knee.

"Jackson Vincent, you will sleep in the bunkhouse. I won't even let you sleep on the couch." Dixie scolded him.

"I do not miss that part of being married." Teddy quipped.

"This property is really pretty. At the very least we could have our reception here." Maddie suggested.

"Sweetie, this is your home too. You are welcome to use it for whatever you want." Rayna told her.

"We could rehab that old barn that sits back on the river and do a barn weddin'." JC threw out his first real idea.

"Babe, I love that idea. That would be awesome. Then we could have the reception up here closer to the house." Maddie jumped on board.

"It's a damn good thing we bought up that extra acreage we're gonna need it to park 'bout five hundred people." Deacon smiled and shook his head.

"I could probably rehab the barn myself. It'll save some money." JC threw out there.

"Honey, don't worry 'bout that. Money is no object for this wedding. We aren't sparing any expense. Whatever you two want you've got." Rayna waved off his concern.

"Easy there, Rayna. Not all of us are highly successful record executives." Teddy cautioned her.

"Whatever my princess wants she's gonna get. I'm not even gonna fight it." Deacon said.

"Thank you, daddy, you're the best." Maddie kissed his cheek.

"I know I am, but don't get too crazy carried away. I don't wanna have to sell off my guitars to finance this thing." Deacon told her.

"I promise I won't." Maddie swore to him.

"Next item on the agenda. Wedding party." Rayna moved on down her list.

"Daph, Casey, Scarlett, Juliette, Mack." Maddie started listing people off.

"Will, Rhett, Gunnar," JC added.

"So, you have a general idea, you just don't know how many yet?" Rayna asked them.

"Yeah, I think that's a safe bet, mom. I want the twins, Charlie, and Jackie to be in it of course." Maddie responded.

"I'm kinda torn, Maddie. Do we want Hailey or Sydney in it?" JC was talking about his sister and his niece.

"Up to you, babe. I have to work both my sisters in. I know how close you are to Hailey though." Maddie left it up to him.

"We can put a pin in it and come back to it." JC replied.

"Jimmy, I know you ain't gonna wanna hear this." Dixie started.

"Then don't say it, momma." JC groaned.

"You should think about askin' Bobby and Jeremy to be your groomsmen too." Dixie said it anyway.

"Bobby I have no problem with bein' in the weddin'. Jeremy I'm gonna have to protest that. There's no tellin' what kinda shape he'd show up in if he bothered to show up at all." JC rolled his eyes.

"Just think 'bout it." Jack told him.

"Ok, I will." JC crossed his arms.

"That brings up the subject of grandparents." Rayna went on.

"That should just be Lamar, June, and maybe Paul. Right?" JC asked.

"That sounds about right to me. Pawpaw, mawmaw, and Paul." Maddie nodded her head.

"Maddie, don't forget about my mom." Teddy reminded her.

"Right, so that's four." Maddie readjusted her count.

"You're also gonna want to leave enough space between the seats and the aisle to accommodate three people at once." Teddy suggested.

"Why?" Maddie looked confused.

"I just assumed that you'd want Deacon to walk you down the aisle with me. If it's gonna be just the two of us then you don't need to worry about it." Teddy explained. There was a hopeful edge to his voice. He'd missed out on so much with her while he'd been in prison. In his mind he'd been her dad for longer than Deacon had and if anyone had the right to walk her down the aisle alone it was him.

Deacon sat straight up on the couch and his posture stiffened. Giving Maddie away was his job, but he'd abide by whatever decision she made. He'd always known that it would come down to this. He was actually prepared for her to pick Teddy over him. He would deal with it.

Maddie looked at Teddy then she looked at Deacon and then she looked over at Rayna who gave her a look that said she wasn't getting into the middle of it right now. "Yeah, it'll be just the two of us, dad." She made a snap decision. She figured she could throw Teddy that bone. He'd been in prison for her high school graduation and she and Deacon had other special things that they did just the two of them that she would never share with Teddy. She tried her best to ignore the crestfallen look that crossed Deacon's face. She was trying to make her peace with Teddy for Daphne's sake.

"Maddie, not everything has to be decided right now. You can take your time and think about it." Rayna told her. She had been in hopes that this wouldn't come up just yet.

"It's ok, Ray. Like I said send me the bill." Deacon forced a smile.

"I think that's a great stoppin' off point for now. Lord knows I should probably go make sure those little ones didn't revolt and tie Daphne up. They are way too quiet." Rayna said.

"I'll go check on them, babe." Deacon jumped to his feet quickly and headed upstairs.

"Jimmy, why don't we take your mom and dad and show them the spot where we want to get married?" Maddie suggested.

"That's a great idea, babe." JC agreed. "Come on, let's go take a tour of the Whiskey Bent Ranch."

"Jimmy, you know damn well that that ain't the name of this ranch." Rayna laughed at him.

"It's the name of Deacon's half. At least that's what he told me." JC chuckled.

"Get out of here." Rayna pointed her finger at the door. They cleared out and left her sitting alone with Teddy.

"It's really hard to believe that she's old enough to be getting married isn't it? It seems just like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital." Teddy mused.

"It really is." Rayna nodded her head in agreement. She had just promised Maddie whatever she wanted, but she couldn't let this one go. "Teddy, what the hell was that?"

"What?" Teddy asked like he didn't know what she was talking about.

"You know what. You put Maddie on the spot. What the hell did you think you were doing just assuming that you were gonna be the one to walk her down the aisle?" Rayna demanded.

"I was thinking that I have been there since the day she was born and as her dad it's my right to walk her down the aisle." Teddy replied.

"That's right, Teddy. You were there all through my pregnancy, you were there the day she was born, and you were there with her all through her childhood. You did everything for her, but father her. Deacon did that. We took everything else from him. He got twelve years with her, twelve. And what he did have he had to share with you or with your ghost because I let our daughter call another man dad. I know I said it was her choice, but I'm taking it from her. At the very least he should walk her down the aisle too. Personally though I think you should have the decency to step back and let Deacon have this." Rayna told him.

"Rayna, she's still my daughter too. I could throw a fit about the way Daphne calls him dad, but I don't." Teddy pointed out to her.

"You asked him to step into that role. She needed someone there. You were in prison, Teddy. She had no one else. Then when you did get out you made sure to keep your distance. You wanted a fresh start. That's on you. And I know that the argument can be made that I asked you to step in and be Maddie's dad. I did and I know I did, but I just feel like we both owe him this, Teddy." Rayna reminded him. "Help, yourself to whatever you want in here. I need to go check and make sure that Deacon didn't go down the rabbit hole with those kids. If I don't watch out they will be playing paintball in my house." She excused herself. She didn't truly believe that Deacon would let them tear the house up, but she wanted to check on him.

Deacon was standing out on the balcony off of their bedroom. His forearms rested on the railing and he was bent over just staring off into space.

Rayna walked up behind him and put her hand on his back. "Hey, baby, you ok?"

"I'm fine, Ray. It's what she wants. I only want her to be happy. If this makes her happy then I'm all for it. I still fathered her no one can take that from me." Deacon forced himself to sound cheerful.

"Honey, it's ok for you to be upset. Like you said you're her father and no one can take that from you. I always knew that this would be the hard part, but I didn't expect him to put her on the spot like that. I'll talk to her about it. I hate that she's in this position and I hate that I'm the one who put her in it." Rayna put her hand on top of his.

"Babe, I ain't gonna make this 'bout me. It's her day and you know that I will do whatever I have to, to make her happy." Deacon replied.

"You're a good man, Deacon Claybourne." Rayna kissed his cheek. She made a silent promise to herself that she was going to make this right for him.

* * *

"Hey, mom, I just wanted to thank you again for letting us have the wedding here." Maddie stepped into her mom's office later that day.

"Sweetie, you should have known that daddy and I wouldn't have said no to that. I'm happy that you want to have it here." Rayna smiled at her.

"So, you either are mad at me or you don't wanna fight right now. I can't decide which. Normally with you I can tell." Maddie mused.

"Come in and close the door behind you." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"That's what I thought." Maddie shut the door.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want Teddy and only Teddy to be the one to walk you down the aisle?" Rayna asked her.

"Honestly, no I'm not. I'm not even sure that I want him to walk me down the aisle at all. I was grown when he got out of prison I was ok. Daphne wasn't ok. She needed him and he just walked away. I'm mad at him for that. I'm mad at him for stepping in and deciding it was his right to keep me from my father. I'm mad at him for selling me out to Jeff Fordham instead taking the consequences for his actions. But, it means so much to Daphne that I try to repair our relationship and I don't know how else to do it." Maddie groaned.

"You have every right to feel that way with him and with me. I appreciate how hard this is for you and I'm the one who put you in this position. Put the decision off on me, Maddie. This is on me and I should be the one who has to deal with it. I can't ask you to. It's not fair to you. If this is truly what you want I'll leave it alone. I'm not trying to guilt trip you, but your dad doesn't deserve this. Part of me thinks that he deserves to walk you down the aisle alone and the other part of me thinks that Teddy deserves it too. Teddy only did what he did for me. As you can see the decision is just as hard on me as it is on you. The simple solution would be just to have them both do it, but I'm not sure they wouldn't kill each other." Rayna sighed.

"Like you said we still have time. It'll get figured out. I can't put this off on you, mom. I'm an adult now I have to make my own decisions." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"I will say one last thing and then I'll leave it alone. Go with what your gut is telling you to do, Maddie. The last time you didn't trust yourself you almost destroyed your relationship with your father." Rayna left her with that food for thought.

* * *

" _Life is full of ups and downs. And I can't change the world around. The only thing that I can do is always keep on lovin' you."_ Deacon sat beside Charlie's bed strumming his guitar. He did this with her and the boys every night. _"Yes life is full of ups and downs. And I can't change the world around. The only thing that I can do is anythin' you want me to. The only thing that I can do. Is always keep on lovin' you."_ He smiled at his youngest daughter with tears in his eyes when he finished singing. The choice that Maddie had made had hit him harder than he thought it would.

"Why are you sad, daddy?" Charlie picked up on the change from his usual cheery mood.

"Daddy's not sad. He's just really, really happy to have you for his baby girl, Pistol." Deacon bent over and kissed her forehead.

"I'm really, really happy that you're my daddy." Charlie hugged him around his neck.

Deacon held on to her a little longer than he normally did.

"Why are you standin' out here in the hall bein' a stalker?" Rayna walked up and whispered in Maddie's ear.

Maddie jumped and clutched her chest. "Jesus, mom, make some noise next time and let me know you're coming."

"That didn't answer my question." Rayna put her hands on her hips.

"I was just standing here watching dad put Charlie to bed that's all." Maddie replied.

"You shouldn't have just stood out here you should have gone in. She would have loved that. She just adores you, Maddie. She wants to be close with you like you and Daphne are." Rayna told her.

"Mom, you know it's a little different. I'm seventeen years older than her. And there's other stuff that makes it different. I didn't wanna go in there and disturb them. This is Charlie and daddy time." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"The last time I checked you and Charlie share a daddy and she doesn't mind sharing him with her big brothers and sisters one little bit. You can use that age thing for an excuse all you want I know that's not it. You don't have a problem bein' close to any of the boys. You're jealous of your sister that's what's different. She gets to be daddy's little girl and you never got that. It's ok to feel that way, but it's not ok to let your relationship with her suffer because of it." Rayna retorted.

"It's that Daphne and I had a completely different set of experiences than them. Of course I want to be close to all of them, but my relationship with Daph will always be different than mine with them. It does get to me a little bit sometimes, but it isn't Charlie's fault and I know that." Maddie sighed.

"I'll grant you that. I thought you were gonna say because you have different fathers or something like that. because technically the only one of you with a different father is Daphne. That doesn't matter though all six of you came from the same damn place." Rayna retorted.

"God, mom. I know that. I could have done without that visual." Maddie groaned.

"I'll say this one last thing and I promise I'm done on the subject. You can't help all the things that Charlie is gettin' with daddy that you didn't. However, when daddy walks her down the aisle, but he didn't walk you, you won't get to lay the blame for that on anyone other than you." Rayna left her with those parting words before she walked to her bedroom.

"Alright, get some sleep, Pistol. Who's comin' tomorrow night?" Deacon asked Charlie.

"Santa!" Charlie exclaimed excitedly.

"That's right, Santa is comin' tomorrow night. We have a big day tomorrow. I love you and I'll see you in the morning." Deacon kissed her forehead again.

"I love you too, daddy." Charlie yawned.

Deacon flipped off her light and turned on her nightlight before he walked out. "Maddie, what are you doin' wanderin' 'round the halls?"

"I was just gonna go raid the kitchen. I'm not used to having a fully stocked kitchen. My fridge is mostly just for beer." Maddie laughed softly.

"Well, goodnight, sweet girl. I love you." Deacon kissed her cheek.

"I love you too, dad." Maddie replied. Her mother's words had started to sink in. That old sense of guilt she'd felt since she turned on him in that courtroom started to creep back in on her again. She thought she'd buried that a long time ago.

* * *

Rayna sat on the side of the bed in nothing, but her sleep shirt putting lotion on her legs.

Deacon stood in the doorway of their bedroom for just a moment watching her. After all their time together it still amazed him how he found the simplest things she did to be overtly sexy. It was possibly because everything about her turned him on and it always had. Or it could have been that he knew for a fact that only a t-shirt and a pair of panties were protecting her virtue at the moment.

"Hey, I didn't see you standin' there." Rayna looked up when she heard the lock on the door engage with a soft click.

"That's cause I didn't mean for you to. I was too busy enjoyin' the show you're puttin' on." He bit his bottom lip.

"I ain't puttin' on a show. I'm puttin' lotion on my legs, because you and I both enjoy it a hell of a lot more when I shave." She chuckled lightly.

"From where I stand it looks like a show." He walked over to the bed his growing erection leading the way.

She took one look down at his crotch and she saw what he had in mind. "So, it's gonna be like that tonight?"

"It's gonna be like that. I figure we'll both be too tired tomorrow night. We'll just have to have our naughty Santa and Mrs. Claus time tonight." He kneeled on the bed behind her and started rubbing her shoulders.

"I don't know 'bout all that. Your momma is gonna be here early tomorrow to start cookin'. And today was pretty trying." She feigned disinterest in what he had in mind.

"I'm sure I can change your mind 'bout that." He used his thumbs to kneed the spot in between her shoulder blades where she carried all her tension.

She let out a satisfied moan. "Keep doin' what you're doin' and we will see how much that improves your chances." She was still playing hard to get.

Part of what kept their love life fresh was the chase. There were times when they would be on each other the first chance they got. Other times one of them would pretend that they didn't want it just to get the other to work a little harder. They were both on to the games that the other played, but neither of them wanted to do a thing to change it.

"If that's the case I think you need to lose then shirt and lay on your stomach." Deacon gently pried the bottle of lotion out of her hand.

"It won't be a hardship to lose my shirt for one of your famous back rubs." Rayna took her shirt off and laid flat on her toned stomach. Despite her age and the fact that she'd given birth to six children there wasn't an ounce of fat on her and everything was still taut.

He squirted a generous dollop of lotion into his hands and rubbed them together to warm it. He put his hands on her back and started to rub in wide circles. The lotion let his hands glide over her skin like silk. He did that a few times before he added more lotion to his hands. He started to work out the kinks in her trouble spots. Between her shoulders and the small of her back. For whatever reason they were both always knotted up.

She moaned in squirmed underneath him. Partly in pleasure and partly in pain. Her muscles really were sore and tight. She arched her back into him when it finally stopped hurting. "God, babe, you really do have magic hands." The words came out of her mouth in a lazy drawl.

"You're always so damn tense. You gotta stop carryin' it 'round with ya." He placed a kiss on the nape of her neck. He nipped the soft skin there and then he ran his tongue over the spot to soothe it.

"Jesus Christ, Deacon, you're gonna make me come before you even touch me sexually." Rayna squeezed her thighs together and then relaxed them again. She could feel the growing wet spot in the crotch of her panties.

Deacon's chuckle came from deep in his chest. His mouth was against her ear. He nuzzled the skin of her cheek with his beard. "Can't have that? Now can we?"

A delicious shiver ran down her spine when she felt his hot breath on her ear. Her nostrils filled with his masculine scent. "No, we can't, baby. I much rather you use your fingers or that giant cock of yours to give me my orgasms."

"Fuck, Ray. Now who's tryin' to make whom come without bein' touched?" He groaned. He put a little more lotion on his hands and rubbed the tops of her thighs just under where the cuffs of her panties ended.

"Then why don't you do somethin' 'bout it, cowboy?" She purred sexily. There was a hint of challenge in her voice though. She felt the bed move under his shifting weight. She had no idea what he was doing, but she didn't care enough to look over her shoulder and see.

"Turn on over, baby." His voice was husky with desire.

Rayna rolled onto her back both her nipples hard from rubbing against the silky fabric of the comforter. Her eyes clouded over with lust when she saw him kneeling there stark naked. "I see you decided to join the party."

"Damn right I did." Deacon stroked his impressive cock from tip to base a couple of times and he watched her eyes follow his every movement.

"Now don't you go gettin' yourself off before you get me off." She teased him.

"I wouldn't dream of it, babe." He left a trail of slow, sweet kisses down her body that started at her lips and ended at the waistband of her panties. He'd paused only long enough to worship both her nipples with his mouth and to swirl his tongue around her belly button.

She pushed her pelvis up to him in offering. "Go on, take 'em off you know you wanna."

He needed no further encouragement. He slid her panties down her long legs and tossed them across the room where his clothes were. He covered her tiny body with his much larger frame. He supported his weight on his hands his forearms bulging from the extra tension. "Just try your best to be quiet. We don't wanna wake the monsters." He gave her a word of warning before he sank into her depths.

Her mouth opened in a silent moan and she wrapped herself around him. Her arms were secured around his neck and she fastened her mouth to his. Each of her ankles rested on his hips and her feet were locked together behind his back. She squeezed her walls around him as she got accustomed to his more than ample girth.

He moaned into her mouth. The pressure her walls put on him was heavenly.

She let out a high pitched squeal of surprise when instead of thrusting into her he lifted her up and sat back on his knees so that she was sitting on his lap. She kissed him deeply running her hands through his hair while she started rocking her hips moving herself up and down his length.

He kissed her back like his very life depended on it. He tangled his hands up in her mane of golden red hair. It was so thick and silky it felt like each individual strand had been hand spun by angels. He thrust up every time her hips came down effectively driving himself deeper into her. He pulled his lips away from hers and moved them to her neck.

She put her hands on his shoulders to get more leverage. Her breathing was ragged and heavy. There was no way this man was in his fifties. He fucked like a man half his age. Feelings of arousal, lust, and pride swirled through her at once. This beautiful Greek god of a man was hers in any way she wanted for the rest of her life. She yelped a little when his teeth sunk into the tender flesh of her neck. She just threw her head back and moaned. There was no use in her telling him not to leave a hickey on her he was going to do it no matter what she said.

Deacon smirked against her skin highly satisfied with the noises he had her making. According to the passage of time she may have aged, but she still felt the same in his arms as she had at sixteen. If he didn't know how many children she'd bore him he wouldn't be able to tell. Her body was still as flawless as the first time he'd seen her naked. Almost forty years he'd loved this woman. He'd never knew what he'd done so right that God had put this redheaded vixen in his path, but he made sure to thank him every night when he said his prayers.

Rayna dug her fingernails into his shoulder blades and rode him harder and faster. She brought one of her hands up and tugged his hair as her first orgasm of the night overtook her. She rested her head on his shoulder panting her satisfaction in his ear. Her moan came out as purr when she felt him rocking his pelvis against her clit to prolong her orgasm.

He flipped the script on them when without warning he stood up without bothering to pull out of her. He braced her back against the wall. He had one arm wrapped around her waist. The palm of his other hand was flat against the wall to give him more leverage. He thrust in and out of her with all the precision of a steam engine.

She could do little more than hang on for dear life at that point. She was still reeling from her orgasm and on the brink of another. She was so lost in a haze of sexual pleasure that she almost didn't hear him when he spoke even through his mouth was right up against her ear. "What was that, babe?"

"Touch yourself for me, Ray. I can feel you on the edge. Come for me." He murmured gruffly.

She snaked a hand in between their bodies and started to rub her clit with one of her long manicured fingers. She moaned louder. It didn't take much stimulation before she was tipping over the edge into the abyss again.

He straightened up and stood still for a moment letting her ride out her orgasm. When he felt her come back down to earth he carried her into her closet and flipped the light on. He laid them down on the floor and started thrusting into her again.

"Jesus, Deacon! What are you doin' to me, babe?" Rayna drug her nails up and down his back leaving angry red scratches in her wake.

Deacon bit, licked, and sucked on her neck as he continued to move in and out of her. "I'm so close, babe." He grunted. He'd held off his orgasm for as long as he could.

"Come for me, babe. Go on. I want you to. It'll push me over the edge again." She whispered encouragingly into his ear. She worked her walls around him to give him a little extra push.

He came with what could only be described as a roar. He kept thrusting as he emptied his load into her.

She wrapped her legs tight around his waist as she was hit by her last orgasm of the night.

He collapsed on top of her panting, careful to keep most of his weight off of her so he didn't crush her.

She rubbed her hands lazily up and down his back. "Mmm, damn, baby, I'm gonna have to shower again." She giggled.

"Wasn't it worth gettin' all dirty with me though?" He kissed on her neck.

"How big of a hickey did you leave on me this time that I'm gonna have to cover up?" She asked a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Ain't that big. A little makeup and you'll be good as new. Not sure I'll survive, but you'll be fine." He laughed still panting. His heart hammered in his chest like he had just run a marathon.

"Thank you ever so much for bein' so thoughtful this time. The last time it was huge, Deacon." She laughed and slapped his bare ass playfully.

"Mmm, woman, don't you start somethin' else. I barely made it through that round." Deacon teased her.

"I wouldn't say you barely made it through anything. You were totally in command, babe. You're still that nineteen-year-old buck that I was with my first time." Rayna cupped his cheeks and kissed him lovingly.

"Really? I thought I was a stallion?" He grinned at her.

"Stop fishing for compliments and get off of me." She smiled up at him.

He rolled off of her and onto his back still panting. "Good lord, Ray. Your sex drive is gonna kill me."

"And yours is gonna kill me. There's no way I'm not gonna be sore in the morning after that little display of showmanship you just put on tonight." She slowly got to her feet.

"I'm winded, girl. It didn't used to take this much out of me. I think I'm finally gettin' old." Deacon tried his best to catch his breath.

"Don't talk crazy, Deacon, you're still young. And if not you better just get over it and pretend you are. We've got four kids I need your help to raise." Rayna told him. She couldn't help that worry that crept into the edge of her mind. She couldn't remember the last time he'd had a decent checkup with the doctor. Sure he still went in every year to get his liver checked from where he'd donated part of it to Paul, but he wouldn't go to the doctor unless he was bleeding from the ears.

"I know I'm probably just a little outta shape. I got all fat and content with you and them kids." Deacon slapped his washboard abs.

Rayna held her hand out to him. "Come on, you can help me cool down in the shower." Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Maybe they weren't done for the night just yet.

"I ain't gonna say no to that." Deacon took her hand and pulled himself up effortlessly. Maybe he wasn't as old and out of shape as he made himself out to be.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. To make up for the long wait I decided to give you two chapters in one day and to give you a little Rayna and Deacon alone time. I hope that it was worth the wait. I'm sure that you're all going to have some feelings about Teddy trust me I have them too, but it wouldn't be a good story without a little conflict. Until next time please review.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 14

"Now, press your thumb down into the cookie and add just a little dollop of mawmaw's strawberry jam." Maddie stood behind her baby sister helping her make cookies. She wore an apron over her Christmas tree pajamas.

Charlie did exactly as Maddie had said and then she turned to look at her with a huge grin on her face. "Like that, Maddie?"

"Just like that. You did so good." Maddie kissed the top of her head. She'd taken her mother's words from the night before to heart. It wasn't fair to make Charlie suffer because she got Deacon from the beginning and she hadn't.

"From the sounds of it mawmaw is gonna be outta a job soon. Maddie is gettin' good at givin' instructions." June turned from the stove. She was stirring gravy.

"Mawmaw, we have only made these cookies every Christmas Eve morning for the last ten Christmas Eves. I think I know how to make them by now, but we still need you, because they just don't taste the same without you." Maddie smiled at her.

"Kinda like daddy grilled cheese doesn't taste the same unless your daddy makes it?" Rayna sat at the counter drinking a cup of coffee. She was more than happy to let her mother-in-law take over her kitchen whenever she wanted to.

"Exactly like that." Daphne answered her mother.

"Daddy is the only one who can make daddy grilled cheese." Jayme spoke up.

"He's the best at makin' daddy grilled cheese." Jack agreed.

"He really is." Charlie chimed in.

"He won't tell no one else what's in it or nothin'." Deac backed his siblings up.

"I have to agree with them." Maddie nodded her head.

"What in the world are ya'll talkin' 'bout?" June asked amused.

"When the kids are sick or hurt or just feelin' a little down Deacon makes them what he calls daddy grilled cheese. No one, but him knows what's in it and none of us have ever been able to make one that tastes like his. I flat out asked him once what he put's in it and he refused to tell me. I even asked him if he put mayo on it. Of course I know better than that because he doesn't even like mayo." Rayna answered her.

"That sounds a lot to me like Paul Cakes. My ex-husband's faults aside that man can make pancakes better than even I can. He has his own secret recipe or somethin'. Before he let the you know what completely take him over every Saturday mornin' without fail he would make them for me and the kids. It was the one day a week that he insisted that I stay out of the kitchen at breakfast." June smiled a genuine smile that lit up her whole face.

Part of her would always love the good parts of Paul it was the sum of all his other parts that made it impossible for her to be with him. She was careful to avoid words like abusive and alcoholic in front of her younger grandchildren they loved their Pa and she didn't want to taint their image of him. They were still too young and innocent to hear about the horror story her life with him had turned into.

"It was the only time he ordered you out of the kitchen and it was the only thing that he could make." Deacon walked in rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Merry Christmas Eve, my sweet boy." June hugged him and kissed both his cheeks.

"Merry Christmas Eve, momma." Deacon made a beeline for the coffee pot. He poured himself a cup. "Ya'll didn't let me sleep so late I missed breakfast did ya?"

"Nope, I'm still workin' on breakfast and my little worker bees are makin' the cookies that have to be put in the fridge for a couple hours before we bake them." June went back to the stove.

"I thought that my ever aging man could use some extra sleep." Rayna's blue eyes twinkled with mirth.

"I think it's been proven that I ain't so old after all." Deacon alluded to the fact that they had gone for another round in the shower.

"I won't argue that." Rayna sipped her coffee.

"I don't wanna know what that means, but sadly I think I do." Maddie made a disgusted face.

"Your momma and daddy like to play a little slap and tickle. I think that should be evident by the four little people sittin' at the counter right now." June laughed.

"Momma!" Deacon groaned.

"June!" Rayna's face blushed.

"You both need to relax a little bit." June shook her head a satisfied grin present on her face.

Elvis ambled into the kitchen with a wide yawn. He sat down by the stove and stared up at June.

"You are just gonna have to wait a minute. Your eggs ain't done yet." June told the dog.

"Then we wonder why the dog is so spoiled." Daphne picked up her coffee cup.

"That's why he's got a good healthy coat. Your mawmaw has been cookin' special for that dog since we got him." Deacon corrected her.

"Speakin' of me spoilin' people. Maddie, get in my purse there's an early weddin' present in there for you." June told her granddaughter.

"Really?" Maddie asked excitedly.

"Really, it's in a little silk pouch." June informed her.

Maddie opened up her purse and found what she was looking for. She opened the pouch and found a silver cross on a very delicate chain. "Oh, mawmaw this is beautiful."

"It's not really for you it's for your daddy. My daddy wore that when he gave me away and my granddaddy and my great granddaddy and I believe my great-great granddaddy." June beamed.

"Thank you, mawmaw." Maddie handed it to Deacon.

"Thanks, momma." Deacon replied tightly. His good mood slowly evaporated.

"Somethin' wrong, son?" June picked up on the change in his tone of voice.

"Daphne, why don't you take those four to the bathroom to wash up?" Rayna suggested quickly. This was a conversation that didn't need to happen in front of them.

"I can handle that. Come on my little monkey brigade. We need to go wash our hands." Daphne picked Jack up and put him on her hip. The other three followed behind her dutifully.

"What's goin' on?" June asked.

"Maddie, why don't you tell her?" Deacon gripped his coffee mug so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Mawmaw, actually my other dad is gonna give me away." Maddie admitted and then she stared down at her fingernails.

"Sweetie, you ain't gotta be scared to ever tell me anythin'. I understand. I guess I just got a little too excited." June gave Deacon a sympathetic smile.

"That's really ok I appreciate the thought." Maddie smiled at her. She really felt like shit.

"Deacon John, you can go on and keep that cross. Your pawpaw would want you to have it." June squeezed his hand.

"I guess there are some sins you just never stop payin' for. I'm gonna go put this up. I'll be right back." Deacon put the necklace back in the pouch and walked back upstairs.

Rayna just leveled her daughter with a stare.

"What?" Maddie asked.

"Nothing, Madison, nothing at all." Rayna shrugged.

"That tells me it's something, but I think I'll at least get a Christmas reprieve before you tell me what it is." Maddie ran off at the mouth.

"With a mouth like that you can only be Deacon Claybourne's daughter. I hope you know that you're not too old to get your mouth washed out." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"I hope you don't think that dad would actually let that happen." Maddie countered.

"I hope one day you have a daughter that's every bit as bad as you are." Rayna shot back.

"Damn, you really are a momma, babe." Deacon laughed as he came back into the room.

"I know daddy and Tandy wished that child on me. Now I'm wishing that she has one like her." Rayna informed him.

"While you're wishin' demon children on her just remember that these are our grandchildren and we will be havin' them a lot." Deacon pointed out to her.

"That's right keep talking, mom. See? Dad does have my back." Maddie hugged Deacon.

"You're actually gonna let me watch your kids?" Deacon asked. He was only teasing, but there was an edge in his voice.

"Of course I am. I want all my kids to have their first guitar lesson from their pawpaw. And who else is gonna spoil them the way you will?" Maddie leaned into his side.

"You just better watch that pawpaw business you ain't even married yet. One step at a time. Your daddy's heart can only take so much at once." Deacon kissed the top of her head. He couldn't find it in himself to stay mad at her.

"Really, one thing at a time. Let's see how much this wedding of yours is gonna cost us before you start thinking about babies." Rayna agreed with her husband.

"Alright, I got the monkeys to get their paws clean. It would be advisable for someone to feed them before they get restless and start tearing the house apart." Daphne came back into the room with Jack still on her hip.

"Daphne, have I ever told you that you're gonna make a good momma one day?" Deacon asked her.

"Thanks, dad. I just don't plan on having the Von Trapp family." Daphne retorted.

"When did that little one get such a sassy mouth?" Rayna looked at Deacon.

"Don't look at me. That can't be blamed on me. I'm thinkin' that they all get it from you." Deacon winked at her.

"Daph, don't be ridiculous we aren't the Von Trapp family. We are one kid short for that." Maddie corrected her sister.

"With the way those two are about each other I wouldn't count on that for long." Daphne snorted.

"Believe me I'm done. That last one was hard enough I can't imagine having a baby at this age." Rayna shut that idea down quickly.

"Ok, we are 'bout to get on a subject that will make me very uncomfortable so I'm just gonna put a stop to it now." Deacon spoke up.

"Breakfast is done. That should give ya'll somethin' to do other than run your mouths." June shook her head and laughed at them.

* * *

Rayna and Deacon's annual Christmas Eve bash was in full swing. Without fail they held it every year and whoever was in town showed up. It was an open house type deal that went all afternoon and all night.

"No, no, old man, stop runnin' off at the mouth. This is apples and oranges you're tryin' to compare right now. I can't even talk to you." Will was in a playful yet heated argument with Paul.

"I can't help it that you can't handle the truth. For my money Muddy Waters was a better musician than BB King." Paul retorted.

"Someone needs to come talk some sense into this man." Will took off his cowboy hat and ran his hand through his hair.

"Paul, are you makin' a nuisance out of yourself as usual?" June asked her ex-husband.

"This pup is tryin' to argue music with me. He asked me who I thought the best musician to come outta Mississippi was and I told him Muddy Waters." Paul explained.

"Will, there are two things you don't argue with Paul Claybourne. Music and whiskey. If you remember that you will be just fine." June informed the young man.

"He had to be the authority on somethin'. Lord knows his teams never win in the Turkey Bowl or the Jingle Bell Bowl." Will made reference to the football games that they played on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

"Now you're just askin' for it. I can't let this stand." Paul shook his head. "DJ!" He called out.

"Paul, what do you want?" Deacon was wearing a Santa hat on his head.

"I need two guitars, a banjo, and a harmonica. I don't suppose you'd know where I could find three other people to play with me would ya?" Paul requested.

"I think that can be arranged." Deacon left and returned with what Paul had asked for along with Max and Scarlett. He handed Paul an acoustic guitar and he sat down with his acoustic blues guitar. Scarlett had the banjo and Max was on harmonica.

"What in the world is goin' on over here?" Sadie asked.

"You'd have to ask my father that one. I ain't real sure." Deacon replied.

"You'll see in just a minute." Paul answered.

"Paul, you might as well start us off." Deacon gestured for him to start playing.

Paul started playing and the other three joined in soon after.

"What is this? It sounds like a cross between a blues band and bluegrass band." Rayna walked over and asked.

"This is the result of an argument that Will and Paul had. Don't ask 'cause you don't wanna know." June laughed.

"I don't wanna know, but if I thought it anything would come of it I sure would sign the ones I don't already have locked in to a contract." Rayna retorted.

"That talent is definitely genetic isn't it?" June looked at Scarlett, Deacon, and Paul.

"Yes it is." Rayna nodded her head in agreement.

Everyone clapped when they finished playing.

"Well, I guess I stand corrected on this one thing." Will was suitably impressed.

"I guess you won't argue music with me anymore." Paul challenged him.

"Paul, stop tryin' to scare the cowboy." Deacon laughed.

"That's ok, Deacon. You keep teasin' me like that and I will show you no mercy out on the football field." Will patted his back in a friendly gesture.

"I don't need your charity, boy. Hit me with your best shot. I believe that my teams are on a winnin' streak anyway." Deacon shot back at him.

"Didn't ya'll agree to tone the game down some when the kids got big enough to play?" Sadie asked them.

"We may have agreed to it in theory, but as you know in practice it don't always work out that way." Deacon answered her.

"In other words the guys are free to tackle anyone they want as long as it's not one of those kids." Rayna translated.

"Is it almost time for the annual show of idiots bein' idiots?" Juliette seemed giddy at the prospect.

"It is almost time for the idiots to do their macho posturing crap. Because it's not bad enough that they make us contend with it at Thanksgiving. They decided that we have to do it on Christmas too." Rayna spoke through clenched teeth.

"It could be worse Deacon and Max could both be havin' a midlife crisis that involves a sports car and a blonde bimbo." Juliette supplied helpfully.

"Deacon's midlife crisis was the motorcycle that he wrecked before he got the one from Harley." Rayna corrected her.

"I welcome Max to go out and get a blonde bimbo to deal with his ass. Hell, I'll even pay her to keep him entertained." Hailey interjected.

"Alright, let's have them get to this game while it's still light out. That way we won't have to be out in the cold in the dark." Rayna said.

'Sounds good to me." Sadie agreed.

"Bucky, Glenn, give tell them that it's time for the game to start. You two are the refs." Rayna called out to the two overworked managers.

"You've got it, Ray." Bucky gave her the thumbs up sign.

"And here we go." Juliette quipped.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Damn, big brother, you ok? You're suckin' air like you can't get enough." Rhett put his arm around his brother's shoulders after the game was over.

"Yeah, I'm good, Rhett, you ain't gotta worry 'bout me." Deacon reassured him.

"You sure? I mean I know you're gettin' old, but I didn't think you were that old." Rhett teased him.

"I'll show you old as soon as I catch my breath." Deacon flipped him off.

"Catch me, daddy." Jack launched himself into Deacon's arms.

"Hey, little buddy. You played a good game." Deacon spun him around. He suddenly had his second wind. He stopped to check on the turkey he was smoking on the way back into the house.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Babe, I think you and Will get better at barbequing every year. These ribs top last year's hands down." Maddie told JC after dinner.

"We tried a little somethin' new this year. We are very happy that you liked it." JC winked at her.

"What my partner in crime said. We worked very hard on that." Will mock bowed.

"Why to go, Maddie, give them both bigger heads than they already have. I'm surprised that Will hasn't had to buy a bigger cowboy hat yet." Mack rolled his eyes at his husband.

"That ain't the head that you really like though." Will smirked.

"Will, must you always go there. Some of us are tryin' to eat." Casey complained.

"And that is why the kids eat dinner in the other room. That section of the table down there." Deacon laughed.

"You have no room to talk. They may be vulgar, but you are the most profane person I know." Rayna gave him a look.

"I won't argue with that. This means it's that time of the night." Deacon checked the time on his phone.

"It is." Rayna agreed. "Alright, ya'll little monkeys if you're done eating come see Big Deacon he has instructions for you." She called all the kids into the room.

Deacon stood up from his chair and got ready for the mob that was about to attack him.

All the kids came in from the kitchen and stood in front of Deacon awaiting further instructions.

"In the music room everyone has a bag with their name on it. Go find your bag and change into what's inside. For you little ones that can't read yet ask Deac or Jayme and they will help you find your bag. After you do that meet us in the livin' room." Deacon gave them instructions. He didn't want to give them too much to remember at once.

"Got it, daddy. Jayme and I will help the little ones." Deac replied. He offered his hand to Billy. The kids all left the room.

"Ok, daddy, June, Paul, you three are up. We have the books for you to read them after Deacon gives them their one present for the night." Rayna said once the kids had gone.

"Rayna, we do this every year. We know how it works." Lamar assured her.

"I should hope that you would have it down in this amount of time." Tandy sipped from her wine glass.

"Tandy, don't make me have to take the wine away from you." June warned her playfully.

"You can have her wine glass when you pry it from her cold, dead fingers." Bucky muttered.

"I think I've more than earned the bottle or six of wine I drink every week thanks to the people that we have to work with." Tandy defended herself.

"I don't know how you can say that we are all wonderful people." Juliette spoke up for the group.

"Juliette, I'm sure that you're the main reason she drinks." Avery scratched his beard.

"Ten years ago that would have been true. Now it's Maddie and Casey that drive me to drink." Tandy corrected him.

"Maddie, did you hear that? We've officially made it. We are now the reason that our CFO drinks." Cassie whooped.

"I heard it and I'm not sure that we should be proud of that fact, but we are going to be." Maddie high fived her.

"Casey, just so you know I'm marryin' Maddie and not you too." JC shook his head.

"You wish. I'm part of the package, Texas." Casey winked at him.

"As much as I hate to say it she's right. I didn't just marry Mack I married his best friend too. Those two have sleepovers in my bed with me in it." Will pointed out.

"The fact that that doesn't even concern me should tell you how normal that is for those two." JC rubbed his forehead.

"I'm just gonna leave ya'll to clear the table and we are gonna go in the other room and do stuff with the little ones." Deacon gave them a look like they were all crazy.

"That's all you can do when they get their mouths started, dad. You just have to get up and walk away." Daphne laughed.

"Daph, don't start on us. I really do have dirt on you." Maddie smirked.

"Maddie, either tell it or stop threatening me with it." Daphne shot back.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

The kids all came into the living room dressed in Christmas themed pajamas.

"Billy, you're gonna have to let Uncle Deacon borrow them jammies for when he goes deer huntin'." Will scooped his son up into his arms. Billy had one footed pajamas with reindeer on them.

"What do you say, little buddy? Can Uncle Deacon borrow them?" Mack kissed his son's head.

"I know someone standin' over there makin' fun of me that is gonna find himself sleepin' outside at deer camp next year." Deacon gave Will a word of warning.

"I'm gonna regret asking about anything that goes on at deer camp, but I have to ask. Why are you making fun of Deacon now?" Rayna asked.

"Because Deacon has this bright red union suit that he puts on over his underwear and t-shirt. It has everything, but the feet in it." Rhett answered her.

"Ya'll make fun of it all you want to. It works a lot better than all that expensive ass thermal you boys insist on buyin'." Deacon defended himself.

"It's still funny as hell to see you walkin' 'round in that while you make coffee in the mornin'." JC chuckled.

"I'm just gonna ignore ya'll and get to givin' these little ones the presents that Santa left with me." Deacon picked up a big red bag. "Deac, Jayme, Cadence, Charlie, Melody, Jase, Timmy, Riley, Gracie Rose, Danny, Jack, Lacey, Wyatt, and Billy." He listed the kids' names off as he handed them each a box. "Now, go crazy ya'll."

The kids tore into their presents excitedly.

"Now, ya'll are with Pawpaw Lamar, Mawmaw June, and Pa. They are gonna read to you for a little bit." Rayna said once they had finished opening their presents.

"Will, by virtue of bein' the first person to make an inappropriate comment at the dinner table that means you get to set up for their next activity." Tandy was kind enough to remind him.

"Gee, thanks, Tandy. I could go without that rule bein' enforced every year." Will grumbled.

"Let's think about why we had to make that rule." Rayna eyed Casey.

"I will be the first to admit that I have a horrible mouth on me. However, I rest easy at night knowin' that Deacon could give me lessons." Casey threw her hands up.

"And don't you forget it." Deacon smirked. He was the one who liked to go all out for Christmas. He'd never had any of this when he was a child he'd been too poor and Paul had been a drunk. It wasn't about the material stuff for him it was about building good memories.

After the kids had been read to they were herded off to the media room to watch Christmas movies.

"The kids are all settled in that means one thing." Will announced.

"What does it mean, Will?" Mack was actually scared to hear the answer.

"It means that it's time to break the booze out." JC and Will bumped knuckles.

"You mean you haven't been drinking?" Maddie asked him.

"You have been?" JC asked in reply.

"I told you that Maddie is on a quest to get drunker than anyone has been in the history of the world." Daphne chuckled.

"You can leave me and my supposed drunkenness alone." Maddie smirked.

"What in the hell have you been drinkin'?" Deacon asked his daughter.

"Let's see I spiked my whiskey with cider and eggnog." Maddie replied.

"Maddie, that hurts me just thinkin' 'bout it. Vinny and I got so drunk on that at a Christmas party one time and it was no fun comin' back up." Deacon shivered at the thought.

"Now those were two people who were actively trying to get drunker than anyone has ever been." Rayna shook her head. "Maddie, you need to be careful. You have a father and a grandfather that are alcoholics and that just so happens to be their drink of choice."

"Mom, please don't go there. I'm fine. I do not have a problem handling my whiskey." Maddie assured her.

"Do you know how many times I said that?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"Or me for that matter." Paul added.

"I promise both of you that I am fine. I know that you worry because of my genes, but I swear to you I'm ok." Maddie told them.

"Ok, you're right I have to trust you." Deacon nodded his head in acceptance of that. "Anyway, go have at the liquor cabinet. That'll leave a little less for Rayna to dip into when we get on her nerves."

"Oh, honey, that's so cute. You think I get into the booze in the liquor cabinet. I have a stash you know nothin' 'bout." Rayna winked at him.

"Yet I'm the one with the problem. I ain't the one hidin' booze from my spouse." Deacon held a spring of mistletoe up over her head and planted a kiss on her lips.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Maddie will come to her senses about the Teddy thing sooner or later, but something big has to happen to open her eyes first. It's already been hinted at if you think you know where I'm going feel free to give me your guesses. Until next time please review.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 15

JC slipped into Maddie's room and nudged her awake gently.

Maddie rolled over and looked up at her fiancé with questioning eyes. She went to open her mouth, but he held a finger up to his lips in a sign for her to be quiet.

"Put some warm clothes on and come with me. It's really early and we don't wanna wake the kids." JC whispered.

Maddie nodded her understanding of what he'd said. She got up and threw on the first warm set of clothes she could find.

JC held his hand out to her once she had finished dressing. He led her effortlessly through the darkened house and outside.

"You know you've snuck your fiancé up to your room one too many times when he can navigate your parents' house in the dark better than you can." Maddie chuckled. She shivered in the cold. Sometime during the night snow had started to fall the ground was now covered in a blanket of white.

"I'm a Green Beret, I'm gifted that way." JC wrapped her coat around her shoulders. "Put that on."

Maddie put her coat on. "What are we doing out here?"

"You'll see in a minute." JC led her to the horse that he kept stabled there. He climbed up and then offered her his hand.

Maddie took his hand and let him help her get up on the horse.

JC moved back some so she would have enough room to get settled. Once she was in place he pressed his body against her back. He clicked his head and dug his heels into the horse's sides to get him moving.

The stars sparkled in the sky. Off to the east an orange hue appeared as the sun got ready to begin its assent into the sky. They rode in comfortable silence the only sound was the snow crunching underneath the hose's hooves. Their breath came out in smoky bursts. He guided the horse to the highest point on the property.

"You gonna tell me what we are doing out here freezing our asses off yet?" Maddie asked once they had stopped.

"We are waitin' for Christmas." JC told her.

"What does that even mean?" Maddie looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"That means just be here with me in this moment you'll understand what I mean soon enough." JC replied.

"Whatever you say." Maddie leaned back against him.

JC wrapped both of his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He breathed in the scent of her fruity shampoo. He didn't know what he had done right enough to deserve her, but God had really come through for him when he'd put her in his path. He couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to spend the rest of his life loving her and being her partner. He had wanted to steal this quiet moment together just the two of them, because it was one of the last chances that would have to just be a couple before the wedding. Things were about to get crazy for them and they needed this to hold on to.

Maddie relaxed into his embrace. One of the safest places she knew was in his arms. She'd always felt that way with him. Like as long as he was with her she'd always be protected. Sometimes it was hard for her to believe that they had been together for so long. It seemed just like yesterday that she'd seen his smile and heard the sound of his voice for the first time. And then there were times that it seemed like another lifetime back when she'd been a different person. She couldn't deny that she'd learned and grown a lot over the course of their relationship. Now they were set to be married and they would spend the rest of their lives learning and growing together.

They both sat there lost in their own thoughts until the sun began to crest the hill they were sitting on.

"Maddie, what's that sparklin' on that tree right there?" JC pointed out a pine tree with something on one of the branches that was shining brilliantly in the rising sun. He moved the horse a closer to take a better look.

Maddie put her hands over her mouth and gasped when she saw what it was. "Jimmy, it's beautiful."

"Well, don't just look at it, put it on." JC reached over and took a diamond bracelet off the tree branch. He fastened the bracelet around her wrist.

"James, you can't be spending this kind of money on me." Maddie admired her new piece of jewelry.

"Of course I can. Maddie, you forget that I have more money than I could possibly spend in a lifetime. If I wanna spoil you I'm gonna." JC put his foot down on the matter.

"Well, when you put it like that I'm in no position to argue with you." Maddie smirked at him.

"Merry Christmas, soon to be Mrs. Grayson." JC bent down and kissed her lips softly.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Grayson." Maddie smiled against his lips.

* * *

The sound of childish squeals of delight and little feet hitting the hardwood floors echoed through the upstairs of Rayna and Deacon's home.

"The natives are up." Rayna turned over on her side to face her husband. She traced her finger over the stubble on his jaw.

Deacon lay flat on his back staring up at the ceiling a look of concentration on his face.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Rayna kissed his cheek.

"I'm just takin' it all in, babe. I'm enjoyin' the sound of those little monsters runnin' through the house all excited. It won't be long before they don't do this anymore. I want to commit it to memory." Deacon replied. A smile spread across his face when he heard four sets of feet get closer to their bedroom door.

"That's incredibly sweet, Deacon." Rayna raked her nails over his back lightly.

"Get ready here they come. Fake sleep, babe." Deacon closed his eyes and pulled her close to him.

Rayna wrapped her arms around him. She had to try hard not to smile as she heard the kids holding a discussion amongst themselves.

"They're still sleepin'." Deac informed his brothers and sister.

"They're old they need to sleep more than we do." Charlie pointed out.

"We should wake 'em up." Jayme decided on a course of action.

"I ain't wakin' 'em up. You know what momma's like." Deac spoke up before they could volunteer him to do it.

"I ain't doin' it." Charlie crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

"I don't wanna do it either. I don't wanna get in trouble." Jayme didn't want to do it even though it had been his idea.

Deac's face lit up brightly. "Jack Henry can do it. They never get mad at him no matter what he does."

"Good idea, Deac." Charlie sided with her oldest brother.

Jayme lifted Jack up onto their parents' bed. "You heard 'em, Jack. Wake momma and daddy up."

Jack didn't need to be told twice. He started jumping up and down on the bed. "Momma! Daddy! Wake up! Wake up! Santa came!" The unbridled enthusiasm in his voice could only come from the pure heart of a small child.

Deacon let out a soft snore and Rayna buried her face in his neck so she could laugh quietly.

Jack bent down and patted his father's face gently with his little hand. "Daddy, come on, wake up."

With lightning quick reflexes Deacon scooped Jack into his arms and tossed him up into the air before he caught him.

Jack giggled in delight. "Daddy! You're awake, silly goose."

Deacon wrapped him in a big bear hug. "Did you just call me a silly goose? Them are fightin' words chowder head." He rubbed his beard against his son's soft skin and blew raspberries on his cheek.

"Momma, help, daddy's got me." Jack squealed with laughter.

Rayna opened her eyes with a big smile. "What's daddy doing to my baby?"

"Daddy say me chowder head and he won't let go." Jack looked at her with a cute pout on his face.

"Deacon John Claybourne, don't you call my baby a chowder head. You let him go right now." Rayna scolded her husband playfully.

"I can't do that yet. You'd think his big brothers and sister would come to his rescue they are the ones who put him up to this. We aren't openin' presents until I have a reason to release my hostage. If he's not chowder head what's his name then?" Deacon loved to get those kids all riled up.

"I not chowder head I Jack Henry." Jack wrinkled up his nose and frowned.

"Jack Henry what?" Rayna asked him.

"Jack Henry Claybourne," Jack told her.

"I believe your name is Jackson. Your daddy agreed to it, but still he calls you Henry." Rayna just laughed.

"Hey, no fair, you were awake the whole time. Hold on, Jack, I'm comin'." Charlie jumped up on the bed.

"You wanna start somethin' now too, Pistol?" Deacon challenged her.

Charlie just lunged on top of him in response.

"If you two boys wanna open presents you better get up here and help. Daddy can't fight all of you at once." Rayna encouraged her older two sons.

Deac and Jayme weren't about to be left out of the action. They too climbed up on the bed and began wrestling with their father.

"Deacon, be careful with them." Rayna admonished when her husband tossed one of their children down on the bed.

"I am bein' careful. These four don't know the meanin' of that word though. They are givin' it all they got." Deacon protested.

"What in the world is going on in here? I swear it's impossible for a person to sleep in this house." Daphne stood in the doorway rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Daphne, come help. Daddy is messin' with us." Charlie encouraged her sister.

"Daddy is messing with ya'll? I think you got that backwards. It looks to me like ya'll are messing with daddy." Rayna laughed softly.

"He is messin' with us momma. He won't let us open presents until he doesn't have a hostage." Deac backed his little sister up.

"I guess I better come help then." Daphne got in bed and started wrestling with them.

"It looks like wrestle mania is going on in here." Maddie was standing in the doorway now.

"It is. He's refusing to let anyone open presents until he doesn't have a hostage." Rayna rolled her eyes. She secretly loved it though.

"That's not as easy as it sounds. There are five of us ganging up on him. He's really strong for a man his age." Daphne gritted her teeth. She was trying to get Jayme out of Deacon's grip.

"Hey, I take offense to that." Deacon protested.

"You shouldn't. You are pretty old, dad." Maddie teased him.

"That's it. If I weren't on the bottom of a dog pile I'd come over there and give you a piece of this. You don't want none, Maddie." Deacon's threats weren't that credible considering five of his children were on top of him.

"Whatever you say, dad." Maddie laughed. "Mom, you might wanna put a stop to this or we could be here awhile."

"Yeah, I guess I better before we have to spend Christmas morning in the hospital instead of around the tree." Rayna agree. Her way of putting a stop to the nonsense was by kissing Deacon.

"Parental nookie! Yuck!" Jayme covered his eyes with his hands.

"That's my boy." Maddie laughed. Of course she had taught him that.

"No fair, cheater. I had 'em right where I wanted 'em." Deacon was breathing heavily.

"Sure you did, babe." Rayna laughed and pecked his lips again.

"Daddy, you didn't have us. Your heart is pumpin' like a washin' machine." Deac called him out.

"Nothin' like wrestlin' a bunch of monkeys to get your heart pumpin' in the mornin'." Deacon tickled his side. "Alright, that's it. Anyone who wants presents better be in the appointed place in the next two minutes."

"Come on, guys. We better go wait by the Christmas tree." Maddie helped Rayna round the four little ones up and herd them downstairs.

Deacon got out of bed still breathing hard.

"Dad, are you sure you're ok?" Daphne asked him.

"I'm fine. I'm just not as young as I used to be that's all." Deacon threw his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

'Wow, it looks like the Claybourne siblings must have been extra good this year. Santa left what looks like half his work shop in our living room." Rayna said. She looked at the stacks of presents that had been sorted out for each person.

"Santa knows that they try their best to be extra good anyway. Especially the oldest one even if she doesn't always quite succeed." Deacon winked at Maddie. He grabbed the video camera off the mantle and turned it on. "Alright, my little monkeys, listen up. Behind the tree there is a present with each of your names on them. Momma is gonna take the camera while I bring them out to you. We will do it one at a time. After that you guys can go dig into the mountain of presents at will." He handed the camera off to Rayna.

"You better hurry it up before we have a revolt on our hands." Rayna warned him.

Deacon pushed a bike out from behind the tree. "First off we have Henry's big present."

"Oh my gosh, Santa brought me a bike." Jack exclaimed.

"Next we have Charlie's." Deacon carried out a wrapped box. He watched with boyish delight on his face as his little redneck princess tore into the package.

"Daddy! Look! Santa brought me the new bow I wanted." Charlie held up the compound bow for her father to see.

"I see that. You'll get a deer for sure with that bow." Deacon smiled at her. Nothing made him happier than making his little girls happy. Sure he doted on his sons too, but there was just a special place in his heart for his girls.

"You are your father's daughter, Charlie." Rayna smiled behind the camera. Her youngest daughter was the total opposite of the older two.

"Jayme is up now." Deacon handed him a box.

Jayme ripped the paper off the box and held up a set of drumsticks a confused look on his face. "Did Santa bring me what I think he did?"

"He did. He brought you a drum set and he set them up in the music room for you and everythin'." Deacon replied. The music room was soundproof he wasn't going to let that kid have drums anywhere else in the house.

"I hope Santa left momma ear plugs and wine to survive this." Rayna muttered.

"The next one is Bubba's." Deacon handed a box to his oldest son.

Deac wasted no time ripping into his present. The look on his face was priceless when he saw what it was. "I got a new huntin' rifle just like yours, daddy."

"I see that we are gonna have to try it out later." Deacon ruffled his hair. "This one for the Squirt." He gave Daphne a small box with a bow on it. Even though she was an adult he still called her that.

Daphne removed the lid from the box and pulled out a set of keys. "No way! No way freaking way!" She squealed.

"The only way you're gonna know for sure is if you look out the window." Rayna told her.

Daphne rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains. Out in the driveway sat a shiny black Bentley. "This is so awesome!"

"And last, but not least it's time for the biggest baby's present." Deacon handed Maddie a box.

Maddie opened the box and just looked in awe of the pair of heels. "I don't have words right now."

"Are those the right ones?" Rayna asked her.

"These aren't just the right ones these are the perfect ones." Maddie replied. She'd only been eyeing this pair of heels for months.

"Ok, now everyone have at it." Deacon could tell that the younger kids weren't going to be able to hold out much longer.

"I almost don't need any presents. I could watch you with the six of them all day and that would be enough for me." Rayna wrapped her arms around Deacon's neck and kissed him.

"You want me to take that stack of presents with your name on them back then?" Deacon teased her.

"Don't you dare, Deacon John." Rayna swatted his chest playfully.

"Why don't you go open 'em?" Deacon suggested.

"In a minute I wanna watch them open theirs first. Seeing you light up when they hold one of their gifts up is absolutely priceless. I got the best gift of all. I am married to the best husband and daddy any woman could ask for. You treat me like a queen and you are phenomenal with our babies. I don't know how I got so damn lucky." Rayna kissed him again.

"Baby, I'm just givin' back all the love and kindness that you've given me over the years even when I didn't deserve it. You loved me at my worst when I was weak and broken. There ain't another woman in the world that deserves now that I'm at my best. After everythin' you put up with from me I should give you the world." Deacon rested his forehead against hers.

Rayna pointed to each one of their children. "You gave me the world. Those six are my world along with you. I don't need any more than you seven to be happy. Everything else we have is just an added bonus."

"I just need ya'll and a guitar and I've got it made." Deacon agreed with her.

"Momma, daddy, it's your turn to open your presents now." Charlie called them over.

Deacon and Rayna went and sat in the floor with their kids.

"Momma, open yours first. I'm the oldest 'round these parts so I'll go last." Deacon grinned.

"Here I thought you were gonna say because you're a gentleman and believe in ladies first. I should have known better than that." Rayna joked.

"Alright, woman, I hear how ya are." Deacon laughed at her. He picked up a box from her pile and held on to it. "Just for that I'm takin' this."

"Don't you dare. Give me that." Rayna opened it and smiled. "You got me the coffee maker I wanted. I really do have the perfect husband."

"I got you the expensive ass coffee maker that you wanted that looks like it requires a degree in rocket science to operate." Deacon replied.

"Now you open this one." Rayna picked up a box and handed it to him.

Deacon opened it and pulled a heavy coat out of it. "You got me my huntin' jacket."

"Is that the right one? If not blame your son-in-law. He's the one who picked it out. He told me that he knew which one you wanted. Never again do I go into Bass Pro with those four boys by the way. I know they knew all four of their names by the time we left." Rayna told him.

"Babe, this is perfect. It's the exact one that I wanted. I can just imagine you with those four in Bass Pro and I'm kinda crackin' up." Deacon leaned over and kissed her.

"Jimmy was laughing his ass off when he told me about it. I think they did everything to mom that day." Maddie volunteered.

"That is the understatement of the year, Maddie." Rayna corrected her.

"Finish openin' your presents and hush." Deacon laughed.

* * *

Maddie slipped into Deacon's office at Highway 65 stealthily.

"Did you get 'em?" Deacon asked her. He held his hand out with his palm up.

Maddie placed the items into his hand. "I got both of them."

"I'd ask how you got them from her, but I don't want to know." Deacon replied.

"Let's just say I have my way of handling things and leave it at that." Maddie replied.

"She's gonna be missin' these. She will literally have me take the sink apart lookin' for 'em. I'm pretty sure your ways are the reason that they call you and Casey Thelma and Louise." Deacon chuckled.

"I will plead the fifth on that one. There are just some things you are better off not knowing about me. Of course she's gonna miss them as soon as she gets out of the shower. You're sure that you can get this done on such short notice?" Maddie asked him.

"You were much worse as a teenager than I give you credit for weren't you? Yes, Madison. I checked with him before I planned all of this out. He said that he can do it in a day. That he would do it as a special rush job just for me. As your momma likes to say my middle name should be I know a guy. I wouldn't have just had you go through all of that if I wasn't sure it would get done in time." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that? I'm sure you much rather live in a state of denial and continue to think that I was pretty good for the most part as a teenager. I'm sorry I just had to ask, daddy." Maddie batted her eyelashes at him.

"You're forgiven. Let's just say that curiosity is gonna win out this time and I wanna know." Deacon knew that he was probably going to regret this big time.

"Dad, I had a fake ID. Your house was party central back in the day. One night we snuck up to the cabin and let's just say it's a damn good thing I went back up there the next night and cleaned it was not a pretty sight." Maddie clued him in.

"That's normal teenage stuff. You are so lucky that I didn't know 'bout my cabin though. That is my sanctuary." Deacon just shook his head at her.

"Do you want to tell me what's with all this cloak and dagger stuff? Why you had to tell mom that you were running errands today?" Maddie asked him.

"Your mother asks too many questions. She just has to hold off a couple more days and she will have them back. Ten years of marriage is a pretty big anniversary and I want to surprise her. I can't do that if she starts in with her questions and figures things out. As of right now as far as I know she has no clue what I have planned this year." Deacon explained to her.

"I hope Jimmy is as attentive a husband as you are. There are times she seriously doesn't deserve you." Maddie smiled. Her parents were a lot to live up to as role models. They had set a great example for her with their marriage.

"He will be. There were times when I didn't deserve her. I let her down, I disappointed her, and I downright failed her a lot, but she kept givin' me chances. So I think it's only fair that I live with her naggin' and her mood swings." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm gonna tell you something my husband to be told me. You don't have to beat yourself up for your mistakes for the rest of your life. You are allowed to let yourself off the hook. Daddy, you did thirteen years of atonement for those sins you don't have to pay for them anymore." Maddie told him.

"How did my baby girl get to be so damn wise?" Deacon grinned at her.

"I took after my daddy that way. Your Man Wisdom is legendary among my group of friends." Maddie laughed at him.

"I better get goin' on my errand before your momma decides to use the GPS on my phone to track me down." Deacon got up from his desk.

"The place isn't far from here. Would you maybe want some company?" Maddie asked. With as many siblings as she had she'd learned to steal one on one time with her parents anyway she could get it.

"I'd love some." Deacon offered her his arm.

Maddie hooked her arm through his and walked out the door with him. "She is really gonna be surprised."

"I know she is. I wanna surprise her in a good way every day." Deacon replied.

Their destination wasn't far at all, but by the time they got there Deacon had broken out in sweat and he was breathing like he had been running.

"Daddy, are you ok?" Maddie asked him.

"I'm fine. Just a little winded. I'll be alright." Deacon smiled and opened the door for her. Knowing his luck the way that he did he probably had pneumonia or something. He would have to go to the doctor no matter how badly he didn't want to. That could wait until after his anniversary though.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. There were more hints in this chapter for those of you looking for them. Next chapter is another fun light chapter. Until next time please review.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 16

Rayna, Maddie, Daphne, and Tandy, sat in a nail salon with their hands under dryers. They were spending the day together while Deacon kept the kids entertained.

"So without giving me too many details. How was your yearly pre New Year's Eve sleepover at the cabin last night?" Tandy asked her sister.

"It was good. It felt routine and it was perfect. We're an old, boring married couple now and I love it. We have that familiarity with each other that's comfortable like a security blanket. I was a little distracted, but if he noticed he didn't say anything." Rayna replied. It sounded like she was bored, but nothing could be further from the truth. Their relationship still had that newlywed spark and it always would.

"You haven't told him yet have you?" Maddie moved her hands out from underneath the light to see if they were dry.

"No, I don't know quite how to tell you father that I lost the symbol of our undying love for each other. Losing my engagement ring doesn't bother me as much as losing my wedding band. My wedding band is the engagement ring he gave me the first time he proposed. Three times he put that ring on my finger. I gave it back to him the first two, but the third time stuck. I only take my rings off to get in the shower and to put lotion on my hands. For the life of me I don't know what I could have done with them." Rayna sighed.

"Did you drop them down the sink?" Daphne asked her.

"I learned a lesson about that the hard way. I did that once at the house in Belle Meade when I first married Teddy. My fingers were swollen from being pregnant I knocked it down the drain and I had to call a plumber to get it back. I always sit my rings on my vanity. The only thing I can think is that Jack did something with them. He's four shiny things distract him. I've tried asking him and he said he didn't have them. He's generally honest with me, but again he's four and he doesn't wanna get in trouble." Rayna thought out loud.

"Mom, I'm sure they will turn up where you least expect them." Maddie told her cryptically.

"I think Maddie is right, Babe. You have nothing to worry about you'll find them." Tandy offered her a smile. She was of course in on whatever Deacon was up to for their anniversary.

"I sure hope so. I really don't want to have to tell Deacon that I lost my rings." Rayna groaned.

"Mom, even if you did lose them dad would understand. It wouldn't be a big deal." Daphne assured her.

"That's only true if your dad is being reasonable. We will see." Rayna rolled her eyes. She still couldn't believe that she had misplaced her wedding set. That just wasn't something that you lost that easily.

"I think he's in an understanding mood these days. He certainly didn't go off the way I thought he would about me picking Teddy over him." Maddie threw out there.

"That or he's keeping it to himself. With him I can't be sure." Rayna admitted.

"Ok, that's enough about that subject. How about we get out of here and go do some shopping?" Tandy suggested.

"That sounds great." Rayna smiled gratefully at her sister.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Deacon brought the butt of his shotgun up to his shoulder and fired off a shot quickly. "Go get it, Elvis." He yelled out to his dog.

Elvis dashed off and returned carrying a rabbit in his mouth. He dropped it at Deacon's feet.

"Good boy," Deacon reached down and scratched his ears.

"Hot damn. I swear if I ever get a hound I'm gonna name it Charlie. This girl can track down a rabbit and get it on the run faster than any dog I've ever seen." Will lifted Charlie up on his shoulders.

JC laughed at that. "Her and old Blue make quite the team. She's just the right size to get in there and flush 'em out."

"I don't think there's a bird dog as good as my little girl is. She's got that backwoods down home in her blood." Deacon beamed with pride.

"Hey, Jayme, what does the count look like?" Will asked Jayme who was in charge of keeping everyone's quarry in separate piles.

"Daddy hit his limit. Jimmy has five and so do you, Uncle Will." Jayme reported.

"Deac, give me a time check." Deacon called out to his older son.

"We have ten more minutes before you wanted to start gettin' ready." Deac checked the time.

"Let's pack it up then. We have to go get ready and then we have places to be." Deacon made a command decision.

"You take the kids and start gettin' ready. Will and I will stay behind and clean these rabbits then we will be along." JC suggested.

"It's a plan then. I will see you boys later. I gotta meet my brother in a couple hours. He's workin' his ass off right now to help get this ready." Deacon replied.

"I know. Rhett and Mack will never let us hear the end of it. They are doin' all the work while we're playin' round." Will chuckled.

"Come on, monkeys. Let's head up to the house and get ready." Deacon rounded his three children up. Jack was hanging out with June for the day to keep him from being underfoot.

* * *

"You know if I were a suspicious person now would be about the time that I accused ya'll of being up to something." Rayna told her daughters and sister as they led her into the Ryman.

"Mom, you really have to learn to have a little more faith in us." Maddie pretended to be hurt.

"If I didn't know ya'll so well I would have more faith in you. That being said I changed your damn diapers and I know when you're up to something." Rayna stared her down.

"I'm just gonna pretend like I didn't hear that." Maddie shook her head.

"I don't know how you could accuse me of being up to something. Everyone knows that I'm the good one." Daphne took affront to her mother's last comment.

"That doesn't mean you don't have it in you to be tempted by whatever your sister and aunt are up to." Rayna pointed out logically.

"She has you there, Daph." Tandy laughed.

They walked backstage and Deacon was standing there waiting for them. He wore only a pair of dress pants and a t-shirt.

"Deacon, what in the world are you doing here?" Rayna asked him.

"I can't tell you that yet we don't have time. You have to go get ready. You're meetin' me out on the stage in an hour and a half. I promise you'll understand soon enough. I love you." Deacon kissed her lip quickly.

"I love you too. I may kill you when I figure out what you're up to though." Rayna replied.

"Mom, you need to come with us. Your makeup team is waiting for you." Daphne directed her mother toward a dressing room.

"I'm comin'. Just know that I'm thinkin' up ways to get back at ya'll for this." Rayna allowed them to lead her where they wanted her to go.

"Rayna, they got you here on time. I'm surprised." Liz fussed with something in a garment bag.

"Really? They got you in on this? You of all people just went along with it? You and Deacon have a friendly contempt for each other. I can't believe you're working together." Rayna laughed.

"Like I was gonna trust anyone else to dress you. I can look past my feigned dislike of Deacon to make sure you're taken care of." Liz replied.

"She's kinda bossy that way." Maddie opened up a champagne bottle and started pouring it into glasses.

"And you better not think for a second that I'm gonna let you get married without using me for your bride's maids' dresses." Liz pointed a finger at Maddie.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Liz." Maddie assured her.

Daphne sat down and started fixing her makeup. "She does know what's good for her every now and then."

"Maddie, give me one of those. I can't get to my part of this until they finish her makeup anyway." Liz took a glass from Maddie.

"Help yourself, Liz. I think we've all earned a drink." Maddie clinked glasses with her.

"Now you know why I drink wine like it's water." Tandy arched an eyebrow.

"I'm starting to get a pretty good hint as to why." Maddie agreed with her aunt.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Look at you, your momma isn't gonna recognize you all cleaned up." Deacon fixed Deac's tie and smoothed down his hair.

"I hope she appreciates the fact that I'm in a dress." Charlie grumbled.

Deacon had to cough to hide his laughter. "I promise you that it will make your momma's day." He knew how his daughter hated anything girly or frilly.

"How do I look, daddy?" Jack squirmed around the chair he sat in. He was four it wasn't like they could expect him to be perfectly still.

"You're look good, Henry." Deacon kissed his forehead.

"What about me, daddy?" Jayme studied his reflection in the mirror.

"You always look good, pretty boy." Deacon teased him. It was no secret that Jayme paid a lot of attention to his looks. He took after Rayna that way.

"Here, Jack Henry, play a game it'll keep you occupied for a while." Scarlett handed her cousin an iPad.

"Thank you, Scarlett." Deacon breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure how he was gonna keep that little boy occupied.

"You're welcome, Uncle Deacon. The way I figure it that should keep him occupied for at least the next twenty to thirty minutes. It always works with Jase." Scarlett shrugged her shoulders.

"It shouldn't be that much longer that we have to wait. We can at least head out on the stage soon. He can move around out there." Deacon replied.

"Gunnar and the rest of the guys should 'bout be finished with everythin'." Scarlett agreed with him.

"They were almost finished when I went out to meet Ray. They should be done by now." Deacon told her.

"That is if none of them got sidetracked. They know we are on a schedule though. They are savin' all their grab ass for later." Scarlett shook her head at thought of the trouble those grown men could get into.

"Maybe you should go see 'bout them just to be on the safe side." Deacon suggested.

"Yeah, I was thinkin' the same thing. I'll be right back." Scarlett went out to check on the progress the work crew was making.

"While Scarlett is doin' that you four come here for a minute. I wanna have a talk with you." Deacon dropped down to his knee and gestured for his children to huddle around him.

"What is it, daddy?" Jayme asked him.

"This is a really special day for your momma and me. Really it's special for all of us. We've been married for ten years today and I wanted to do somethin' nice to surprise her. The first time we got married it was really quick and we didn't make that big a deal outta it. So, it's very important that you four are on your best behavior today. That's what you can do to help make momma happy. Ok?" Deacon looked them each in the eyes.

"Ok, daddy, we can do that." Charlie agreed to what he wanted.

"Yeah, daddy." Deac backed her up.

"We're in." Jayme chimed in.

"Whatever you say." Jack agreed with his three older siblings.

"Alright, that's a good deal then. Bring it in, Claybourne family hug." Deacon opened his arms wide so he could hug all four of them.

* * *

"Daddy, what are you doing here?" Rayna had just walked into the wings to go out on stage. She wore a form fitting white dress that was covered in beads and sequins. It was simple and understated and perfect for the occasion.

"I couldn't very well let you do this without me." Lamar offered her his arm.

Rayna linked her arm through his and smiled as she finally realized what was going on. Or at least she thought she had it figured out. "I wouldn't dream of you not doin' this for me again."

"If I could do it when I didn't like Deacon at all I can do it now that I respect him." Lamar kissed her cheek.

"You've gotten soft with age, daddy." Rayna laughed lightly.

"Those children of yours have made me soft." Lamar corrected her.

"Whatever you say, daddy." Rayna smirked.

Deacon stood on the stage waiting for Rayna. He wore a black suit with a blue and silver striped tie that brought out the color of his eyes. There was a red rose pinned to his lapel.

"Well, big brother you managed to pull it off." Rhett leaned over and whispered to him.

"I ain't pulled it off yet. She could very well kill me for this." Deacon whispered back.

"Relax, I got your back on this one." Rhett patted his back.

"Scarlett, you've got what I gave you right?" Deacon double checked.

"Yes, Uncle Deacon, I've got what I'm supposed to have. Tandy has the other one." Scarlett assured him.

Fiddle music started to play.

"That would be our cue." Lamar told Rayna.

"Lead the way then, daddy." Rayna replied.

Lamar walked her across the stage to Deacon and put her hand in his.

"Hey there, Mrs. Claybourne." Deacon smiled.

"Hey, Mr. Claybourne." Rayna smiled back at him.

Rhett stood under a wedding arch holding a bible. He'd gotten ordained online just to do this. He cleared his throat. "Ya'll know what we're gathered here for today and in Gunnar's case if you don't just smile nod and go along with it we'll explain it to you later." He couldn't resist getting a shot in at Gunnar while he couldn't fight back. "I better go ahead and refresh everyone's memory just in case."

Deacon and Rayna looked at each other trying hard not to laugh.

Rhett opened the bible and grew serious. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the recommitment of this man, Deacon John Claybourne to this woman Rayna Alisia Jaymes Claybourne. I ask now who gives this woman to this man?"

"I do," Lamar answered and he went to his seat.

"These two's love story is the stuff of legends. They are Romeo and Juliet except with a happy endin'. They are totally committed to each other and to their children. That's why I'm honored to stand here today and preside over this vow renewal for them. They are two of the best people I've ever known. He's a great big brother. And while everyone else was gettin' used to the idea of me she welcomed me to the family with open arms." Rhett said a few kind words before he moved things along. "Deacon, do you promise to continue to be a faithful and loving husband in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, forsakin' all others 'til death do you part?"

"I do," Deacon squeezed Rayna's hands.

Rhett turned to Rayna. "Rayna, do you promise to continue to be a faithful and loving wife in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, forsakin' all others 'til death do you part?"

"I do," Rayna didn't hesitate for second to say those words again.

"Now, it's time for vows. Deacon, you're up." Rhett told his brother.

"Ray, for our first decade together you loved me better than I deserved, for the next decade you loved me from afar, and you've spent the last decade by my side as my wife and my babies' momma. You loved me at my worst when I was weak, a failure, and a totally broken man. Now that I'm finally at my best and found the man that I was always meant to be, there ain't another woman on the face of the earth that deserves me. You're the who put the hard work in to help me reach my potential. Every day for the last ten years you've gotten up and helped me to fight the battle ragin' inside me. I love you and it's as simple as that. I'm so lucky to have you for a wife and my babies are lucky to have you for a momma. I don't know exactly where I'll be next year or the year after that I just know that we'll be together and that's all I need." Deacon stared into Rayna's eyes. His had clouded over with tears.

When he looked at her he saw their history play out. Meeting her that night at the Bluebird, their first major tour together, how they just knew what they had was the real thing. He saw for the woman she was and the girl she used to be. As it turned out the two weren't all that different. He recognized now how difficult it must have been for her to walk away from him knowing that she was carrying their child.

He could see the time they had spent being each other's best friends. He could also see them rekindling the spark that had never really died between them. He saw them fighting to put it all back together after the truth about Maddie had blown them apart. Everything that they had been through had led them to this day.

"Rayna, now it's your turn." Rhett could see that his brother and sister-in-law were kind of lost in their own little world.

"Deacon, there is one thing in this life I'm certain of even if there is nothing else I'm sure of. I was born to be your wife. When I'm with you everything just falls into place like it's supposed to. You are the most amazing man I have ever met and you always have been even when you made me want to give up on you. Steel is forged in the fire and that's how I know our love is strong it's withstood every fire storm we've put it through. My favorite thing is falling asleep with you beside me and waking up to you. You are the man I want our sons to model their behavior after. And you're the type of man I want our daughters to marry. You teach me something new every day even if it is just a little more patience to deal with you. I rather fight with you than kiss anyone else though. I'm gonna love you for the of my life and it's as simple as that." Rayna spoke from her heart.

When she looked at Deacon she saw all the parts of him that made him the man he was today. She could see the clueless rebel without a cause he'd been when she'd first met him. She could see the eager, but wildly talented young guitar player that she'd logged thousands of miles on a tour bus with. She saw the haunted man that had depended on her to have everything together because he couldn't do it.

She saw the hallow, lonely shell of a man he'd become after she'd dumped him in rehab for the last time. She saw the man who was full of hope and promise when they'd gotten back together the first time. She remembered the hurt and anger that had caused him to fall off the wagon after over a decade of sobriety when he found out about Maddie.

Then she saw the strong, resilient man he'd become so he could be a good father to their daughter. That was the man who had fought hard for them even when she'd said they couldn't be together. Finally, she saw him for the husband and father he'd been for the last decade. All those parts of him made him the man she loved. Even with all the hurt and frustration she wouldn't trade one part of him.

"May I have the rings?" Rhett held his hand out for the rings.

Scarlett put Rayna's wedding set in his hand.

Tandy handed him Deacon's wedding band.

"The ring is a symbol of never ending faith and love. Just as a circle has no beginning or ending neither does a ring." Rhett said. "Deacon, you first again."

Deacon took Rayna's rings out of his hand and he grasped her hand as he slipped them on her finger. "Ray, wear these rings as a reminder of my constant love and devotion to you. A part of me is always with you no matter how far away you are."

"There's my wedding rings." Rayna grinned. Without prompting she took Deacon's ring from Rhett. "Deacon, this ring has been forged in the fire of our love and it is the eternal symbol of my love for you."

Rhett closed the bible. "By the power vested in me by some slightly shady internet ministry that may come after me later and demand thousands of dollars. I pronounce ya'll husband and wife again. Deacon, go on and kiss her you know you want to." He couldn't help himself at all.

Deacon dipped Rayna back and kissed her deeply. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too." Rayna laughed.

* * *

From the Ryman they headed over to the Bluebird. It was as good a place for their reception as any.

"Before we get this thing good and started I have one more present for my wife. I turned our anniversary tradition on its ear this year and I bet she thought I forgot that I owed her a song." Deacon was up on stage with his guitar in his hands. He sat down on a stool and started playing.

" _I've been weak more times than I've been tough. I've been up and down and out and out of luck. The only give I ever gave was givin' up. I've had enough."_ Deacon sang the opening line softly.

Rayna watched him with a huge smile on her face. Truthfully she had thought that he'd forgotten her song this year.

" _I've been loved a whole lot more than I deserve. Through the thick and thin and bridges that I've burned. Still those blessings seem to find me through the curse. This time I've learned."_ Deacon had put a lot of thought into this year's song. It was everything that he'd needed to say to her for years.

Rayna really listened to the words of the song. It was made easy this year by the fact that he wasn't naked and singing to her for a change.

" _So from here on out I'm turnin' around partin' ways with the man I used to be. And I'm makin' you a promise I'm gonna make it count. From here on out."_ Deacon closed his eyes and let all his emotion come out in the lyrics.

" _You gave your best when I was at my worst. You took the wheel through every twist and turn. You've been singin' by my side every time that I forget the words."_ That line had both a figurative and literal meaning. There were times he'd been so drunk on stage that he'd forgotten the words to their songs.

Rayna silently said a prayer of thanks that that wasn't the man he was anymore.

" _So from here on out I'm turnin' around partin' ways with the man I used to be. I'm makin' you a promise I'm gonna make it count. From here on out."_

" _I thank God that I'm with you here tonight. Cause that's all I've ever needed in my life. We've done love wrong so many times. I think it's time we do love right. From here on out I'm turnin' around partin' ways with the man I used to be. And I'm makin' you a promise I'm gonna make it count. From here on out. From here on out. From here on out."_ Deacon finished the song and strummed his guitar softly. He got up from the stage and went to sit by his wife.

Rayna planted a kiss on his lips as soon as he sat down. "That was so perfect, babe."

"I'm glad that you thought so. I just have one last present for you." Deacon reached into his pocket and handed her a CD case.

Rayna took it and looked it over. "You made me a CD of all the songs you've written me for our anniversary. Baby, I love this."

"I sure did. I figured that that could count as your traditional anniversary present. There has to be a little bit of tin or aluminum in that thing. I also did the modern thing and went with jewelry, but you got that last night." Deacon stole a kiss from her.

"I have to ask. Why did you take my wedding rings?" Rayna still hadn't quite figured that part out.

"Take them off and look inside them." Deacon told her.

Rayna took them off and looked at them. Inside her wedding band the words no one will ever love you were written in cursive script. Inside her engagement ring was engraved with to the moon and back. He'd had titles of their hit songs put in there. "Deacon, if you get any more perfect today I don't think I'm gonna be able to stand it."

Deacon took off his wedding ring. "Mine says no one will ever love you in there too."

"You are either pretty much perfect or you know how to behave to get all the hot, dirty sex you can stand. I can't decide which." Rayna teasingly kissed his neck.

"I like to think it's both." Deacon smirked. He put his hand on her thigh underneath the table.

Maddie, Daphne, Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Jack stood side by side on the stage.

"So dad asked us each to say a little something today. I guess since I'm the oldest I'll start." Maddie held a mic. "Mom, dad, watching you two together has taught me a lot. It's showed me what love is supposed to be like and it showed me that every day doesn't have to be a fairytale. The boring and mundane stuff is the fairytale. Dad, you came into my life at a time when I needed you the most and helped me really understand myself. Mom, you are the driving force behind me and I'll always be thankful for that." She passed the mic to Daphne.

"I'll admit that when mom and dad first got back together I was a little afraid of being the odd man out or that I'd be forgotten. That didn't happen though. I never had anything to be worried about on that front. I obviously don't think of Deacon as my stepdad he's my second dad in addition to the one that fathered me. He's been there for me through thick and thin. There's never anywhere I can go that's too far for him to come running the minute I need him. Mom, thank you for picking a man who knows how to love all of us so well. You are the best parents that anyone could ask for." Daphne passed the mic off to Deac.

"My momma and daddy aren't just husband and wife they are each other's best friend. I one day wanna look at a woman the way daddy looks at momma." Deac hurried up and passed the mic to Jayme.

"Momma, daddy, I know that you two will be together for a long time. You'll always have each other even when we all get older and move out." Jayme didn't know what else to say so he handed the mic to Charlie.

"Momma and daddy make love look easy. Even when they fight they always make up and don't go to bed without saying I love you." Charlie gave the mic to Jack.

"Happy anniversary momma and daddy." Jack had a big cheesy grin on his face. That was the only thing they trusted the little boy to say. They didn't know what would come out of his mouth otherwise.

Deacon had his arm around Rayna's shoulders. "I think we have done a damn good job with them, momma." He sighed contentedly.

"I think you're right, daddy." Rayna leaned her head against his shoulder.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I also hope you enjoyed the surprise. I've had that one under my hat for awhile. Hopefully now that my muse is back things will start moving quicker. With the Deacon thing I will just assure you guys now that everything turns out ok. I would never dream of doing any permanent damage to our favorite guitar player. Until next time please review.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 17

Deacon took a deep breath and let it out. "Doc, can you please tell my wife that I'm fit as a fiddle so she will get off this kick of hers?"

"Deacon, I can only tell her that if it's true." Dr. Mike Hutchins took the stethoscope out of his ears and put it around his neck.

"There can't be nothin' too wrong with me." Deacon protested.

"Deacon, be still and stop talking so I can finish my exam." Dr. Hutchins looked in his nose with his light.

"To hear him tell it he's fine. He just has no energy. Walking up the stairs seems to take everything that he has in him. I don't mind tellin' you that my husband is a young virile man in the bedroom department. He has a lot of stamina. Or at least he normally does. Now one round leaves him winded and if I want to go any further with him I have to do the work." Rayna told the doctor.

"Jesus, Ray!" Deacon exclaimed.

Dr. Hutchins took that opportunity to stick the tongue depressor in his mouth and examine his throat. "Say, ahh,"

"Ahh," Deacon stuck his tongue out.

"What about sexual performance? Does he have any trouble rising to the occasion?" Dr. Hutchins asked.

"Not really, but normally all I have to do is look at him and his soldier is standing at attention. Lately, though, it's taken a little work on my part." Rayna answered.

Deacon closed his eyes absolutely mortified by what his wife was saying.

"Don't be embarrassed, Deacon. It happens to a lot of men your age. You're in very good shape though. From what Rayna is saying you have nothing to be ashamed of." Dr. Hutchins turned his light off and threw the tongue depressor in the trash.

"Now that you and my wife have both brought my manhood into question, how does the rest of me look?" Deacon asked.

"Deacon, I'm more than reasonably sure that you have pneumonia. That explains the lethargy and getting winded from normal physical activity. Plus, your lungs sound like crap. You're lucky that you have a wife that's so in tune with your body. I asked her all those questions to rule out your heart being the root of your problems. Poor circulation from heart disease can cause problems in the bedroom." Dr. Hutchins explained.

"So that's it? That's what's wrong with him? He has pneumonia." Rayna asked just to be sure that's all it was.

"Yeah that's it. I'd say he had a bad case of bronchitis that he left untreated and it turned into pneumonia. I'm going to proscribe him some antibiotics and if he's still not doing any better in a week I'll send him for a chest X-ray to confirm that it's just pneumonia." Dr. Hutchins scribbled down the proscription on his pad.

"See there, babe? I'm right as rain." Deacon smirked. He'd known that there was nothing wrong with him.

"Pneumonia doesn't sound right as rain to me, Deacon." Rayna quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I have another question. Deacon, are you now or have you ever been a smoker?" Dr. Hutchins asked.

"He used to smoke like a chimney." Rayna volunteered.

"I ain't smoked in twenty-seven years." Deacon corrected her.

"Alright, I was just checking for my records. Like I said if you're not better in a week I want you to call me. I will send you for a chest X-ray to see if there's anything seriously wrong with you." Dr. Hutchins replied.

"Thank you for your time." Rayna stood up and put her coat on.

"Not a problem. Here's his prescription just make sure he takes it like he's supposed to. Deacon, get to feeling better." Dr. Hutchins said before he left the room.

Deacon put his coat on. "Let's get out of here. You know how much I hate doctors."

"I was hoping that given the fact you're sick you would reconsider the trip you're supposed to be going on tonight." Rayna broached the subject hopefully.

"Babe, I feel fine. It's just an overnight trip. I'm doin' a few numbers to open for the Exes and that's it. I'll be home tomorrow and you can force me into whatever kinda bedrest you want to then." Deacon assured her.

"I just worry about you, baby. You're not as young as you used to be. Pneumonia is more serious at this age than it was when we were in our twenties. People get to be about our age and they die from complications that arise from pneumonia." Rayna stressed to him.

"Rayna, I am fine. I'll get my antibiotic filled before I go and I will let Scarlett watch me take it. I know that will make you feel better. Scarlett is like your little stooge or somethin'. I promise that I'll be ok." Deacon told her.

"Alright, that's all I ask." Rayna sighed. She knew that there was no way she could fight him on this one.

* * *

"So, we meet again." Joel sat down on a stool in the Mile Marker. He had just come from practice at the stadium. He wore a pair of jeans and tight black long sleeved shirt that hugged all his muscles.

Daphne smiled at him from behind the bar. "We meet again. We really have to stop running into each other this way or people will start to talk."

"If they're talkin' 'bout us they're leavin' everyone else alone." Joel sent her a dazzling smile.

"That's very true." Daphne nodded her agreement of that. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'll take a draft." Joel gave her his order.

"Coming right up." Daphne grabbed a glass and pulled the handle on the tap.

"The singin' thing not really workin' out for ya? You havin' to moonlight as a bartender in the middle of the afternoon?" Joel bit his lip in an unintentionally sexy gesture.

"The singing thing is working out very well for me. This is my dad's bar. Well, actually my mawmaw runs it, but he owns it. They were a little shorthanded today and I had nothing better to do, so I'm helping out around here." Daphne sat his beer down in front of him.

"Thank ya much, pretty lady." Joel tipped his baseball cap to her.

"That was pretty weak. Can I tell you a secret?" Daphne crossed her arms.

"Please do." Joel sipped his beer.

Daphne leaned over the bar and whispered. "You're a hell of a lot sexier when you're not trying so hard. I can see through the down home good ol' boy act a mile away. I like you for you not for somebody you think you have to be."

Joel gulped he was keenly aware of the fact that Daphne's cleavage was right in his face. He had gulped and forced himself to look her in the eyes. "Is that so?"

"Oh, it's so. I think that you need to show me the real you." Daphne replied.

"In that case. Join me for lunch. I promise you that you won't regret it." Joel basically dared her to take him up on his offer.

"I'd love to." Daphne walked around the bar and sat down next to him.

"So, what's good 'round here?" Joel picked up a menu.

"You can't go wrong with the meatloaf. My mawmaw makes it herself from her own secret recipe." Daphne didn't need to look over the menu to know what to order.

"That's what I'll go with then." Joel closed the menu.

Daphne turned the computer screen around to face the bar and punched their orders in. "Alright, that'll keep them busy back there for a little while." She got up and poured herself a beer and then sat back down.

"So, why don't you tell me something about yourself that isn't readily available from a Google search." Joel doubled down.

"This is how this is gonna go. We will trade a fact for a fact. Deal?" Daphne asked him.

"Deal," Joel shook her hand.

"I was born in between an unstoppable force and immovable object. My older sister is the unstoppable force and my oldest little brother is the immoveable object. She's driven and he's stubborn, so despite the fact that there are about sixteen years between them I still have to play buffer because they argue so much." Daphne chuckled lightly. It wasn't a lie though. Maddie and Deac didn't always get along the best of any two people.

"I'm the unstoppable force and my baby brother is the immoveable object. My poor sister knows better than to get in between the two of us when we really get goin'." Joel traded information with her.

"I'm obviously not an only child, but I am my father's only biological child." Daphne told him.

"We have that in common too. Here's one for you. My last name is my biological mother's maiden name." Joel countered.

"Ok, you have to explain that one." Daphne wouldn't let him off the hook with just that little bit of information.

"The man I call daddy had a little oops in his teenage years. Who in turn at an oops when she reached the age he'd been when she was born. Him and his wife took me in and raised me as their own. I grew up thinkin' that my mother was my older sister." Joel explained.

"Ok, in exchange for that I'll give you this. The man I'm normally talking about when I say dad isn't actually my father he's my stepdad. He adopted me when I was twelve and I've known him my whole life." Daphne replied.

"That's right Senator Conrad is your biological father." Joel nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's one term for what he is anyway. We don't exactly have the relationship that we used to have." Daphne sipped at her beer.

"Well, well, well, Cricket, what did we walk in on?" JC's voice came from the doorway.

"Joel, I apologize in advanced for whatever is about to happen." Daphne cringed inwardly.

"It looks like we walked in on Miss Daphne in the middle of a date with this very eligible bachelor of a quarterback." Maddie's voice grew closer to them.

"Maddie, what do you want?" Daphne groaned.

"Why don't you introduce us to your friend?" Maddie's eyebrows rose in amusement.

"Maddie, Jimmy, this is Joel. Joel, this is my obnoxious sister Maddie and her fiancé Jimmy." Daphne introduced them.

"It's nice to meet ya'll." Joel gave them a smile and a wave.

"It's nice to meet you too." Maddie smiled at him.

"Do I have to tell you what'll happen if you hurt her or are you smart enough to know?" JC asked him conversationally.

"You ain't gotta tell me." Joel replied.

"Jimmy," Daphne said his name in a warning tone.

"Don't worry about it, Daphne. He's just bein' a good big brother." Joel waved off her concern.

"That's right also file away in your memory bank that I'm a Green Beret and I have a lot of buddies that are just as dangerous as I am." JC gave him another word of warning.

"That's fair enough." Joel agreed with him. "Just remember when you bring your Green Berets I'll bring my linebacker buddies. All one of them has to do is sit on ya'll and you're down for the count." He added with a satisfied smirk.

"Listen to this we got a wise guy in the house." JC's face was set in a stony expression. "Daph, I like this one keep him around for a while." He broke out into an easy grin.

"I like him too. He can be your date to my wedding if he behaves himself long enough." Maddie teased.

Daphne looked down and blushed. "Jesus, can you two be any more embarrassing? Mawmaw wouldn't even be as bad as you two are being right now."

"I'm your big sister it's my job to give you hell." Maddie laughed.

"You should know that I ain't gonna pass up the chance to rib someone. It gets kinda old only havin' Gunnar to pick on sometimes." JC rubbed her shoulders.

"You two might as well sit down and join us for lunch. Lord knows I won't get any peace unless you do." Daphne invited them to sit down.

"I think that we have time for lunch." Maddie replied.

"We sure do." JC agreed with her. They needed to scope Joel out and make sure that he was good for Daphne. It was better to get that out of the way now.

* * *

"Uncle Deacon, thank you again for doin' that for us tonight." Scarlett thanked Deacon after the show.

"It was no problem at all. I know better than anyone that sometimes you just gotta get away from the kids and do a show. Maybe have a night or two to yourselves. And sometimes it's nice to have a night or two away from your spouse. Especially if you're married to who I'm married to. The woman is convinced that she knows how I feel better than I do." Deacon shook his head.

"As wives we do know how you men feel better than you do. You should know that by now." Scarlett joked with him.

"If you ain't feeling too bad, old man maybe you would like to come out with us tonight and hit a couple clubs. Just to see what's going on. I mean we are in Memphis we can't leave without checking out a blues bar or two." Gunnar suggested.

"You know, I got a little bit of a headache. I think I'm just gonna head back to the hotel room and chill out. I'll see ya'll there later." Deacon begged out of going.

"You sure? We can come back to the hotel with you." Scarlett asked him to be sure.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Ya'll don't have to come back to the hotel on my account. Go out and have fun. Be a young married couple havin' a night away from your kids. I will be fine on my own. I'll go call Ray and the kids and then watch somethin' on tv." Deacon assured her.

"Ok, if you're sure we will see you later then." Scarlett kissed his cheek.

"I'll see ya'll later. I'll probably still be up when you get in. Lord knows that my insomnia is actin' up right now." Deacon replied.

"Come on, Scarlett, let's get a move on." Gunnar told his wife.

"Let's get goin', babe." Scarlett took his hand and laced their fingers together.

Deacon headed back to the hotel room. Truthfully this bout of pneumonia was taking a lot more out of him than he was willing to admit. He felt dizzy and light headed. It took everything that he had in him to get the keycard into the lock. He closed the door behind him and flipped the lights on. He stumbled into the room with every intention of making it to the couch.

He swayed on his feet a little bit. A good gust of wind could have knocked him over at that point. His shirt was soaked through with a cold, clammy sweat. Black dots danced in front of his eyes, not that he could make them out his vision was fuzzy. His chest felt tight like something heavy was sitting on it. He couldn't seem to get enough air into his lungs. He just needed to sit down for a minute and get his second wind back.

He put his hand on top of the mini bar to steady himself. He pitched forward and that was all it took to throw off the slim hold he had on his balance. He went sprawling face first down onto the ground taking the bottles of liquor on top of the mini bar with him. He struggled weakly to reach into his pocket for his phone, but it was no use he passed out cold before he even got close.

Scarlett and Gunnar returned to the hotel room a few hours later. Clearly neither one of them was feeling any pain. They both giggled drunkenly.

"Shh, Uncle Deacon is probably still up." Scarlett cautioned her husband and she kissed along his jawline.

"I don't know how you expect me to keep quiet while you're doing that. We best take this to our bedroom then." Gunnar retorted. He squinted his eyes and looked at Deacon's prone form on the floor. "Scarlett, look."

Scarlett looked over to where he uncle lay and she sobered up quickly. She dropped down to her knees by his side. She flipped him over on his back and checked to make sure he was breathing. "He's still breathin'."

"Well, look at all these bottles laying around." Gunnar pointed out.

"No, no way, Gunnar. He didn't. He wouldn't do that." Scarlett shook her head violently. She slapped Deacon's cheek gently. His lips had a bluish tint to them. "Uncle Deacon, wake up. Come on you have to get up."

Gunnar pulled out his phone and dialed 911. "We need an ambulance at the Peabody Hotel room three twelve. My uncle passed out and he's unresponsive. Uh, his lips are blue, but he's still breathing. He has pneumonia right now if that helps any." He listened to what the dispatcher had to say. "Yeah, the door will be unlocked. Please hurry." He hung up the phone.

"What did they say?" Scarlett asked.

"They will be here soon." Gunnar reported.

"Come on, Uncle Deacon, wake up. Please wake up. You have to wake up." Scarlett begged her uncle.

Gunnar stood there unsure of what to do.

Less than five minutes later the paramedics showed up and got him loaded onto a stretcher. They checked his vitals and hooked him up to the monitors. They put several nitroglycerin patches on his chest.

"I'm gonna ride with him." Scarlett said.

"I'm coming too." Gunnar chimed in.

"That's fine one of you can ride up front and the other can ride in the back." The female paramedic told them.

"You ride in back with him, Scarlett." Gunnar knew that's the way she would want it.

"Ok," Scarlett nodded her head weakly. She made sure to grab her purse on the way out the door.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever, but in reality it took under ten minutes with lights and sirens. They rushed Deacon into a trauma room and started working on him.

"Scarlett, what do you wanna do here? Should we call Rayna and wake her up?" Gunnar asked.

"If we call and wake Rayna up before we know anythin' the only thing she's gonna do is get on a plane and come here. It could be nothin' at all. I think our best bet is to wait until we know somethin' and then call her." Scarlett replied.

"If it were you I'd want to know right away." Gunnar gave her a look.

"Ok, you're right I'll call her. I just need to think about what I'm gonna say to her." Scarlett relented.

* * *

qRayna searched her nightstand blindly for her ringing phone. It was a hard enough feat without a four-year-old laying on top of her. If she moved too much then he would wake up. If he woke up then he'd wake Charlie, Jayme, and Deac. She slept with all of them in her bed when Deacon was out of town.

Finally, her fingers closed around her phone. She hit the answer button. "Hello," She whispered lowly.

"Rayna, it's me." Scarlett's voice came over the line.

Cold dread seized Rayna's heart. There were a few reasons that her niece would be calling her that late and none of them were good. "Scarlett, what's wrong?"

"Uncle Deacon had to be rushed to the hospital. I don't know anythin' other than that right now. They just got him into a trauma room and they are runnin' tests. I can call you back when I know more." Scarlett answered her.

"What happened?" Rayna asked.

"We went out after the show and he went back to the room. When we came back we found him passed out face down on the floor. I couldn't get him to wake up no matter what I did. Gunnar called an ambulance and that's where we are at now." Scarlett reported.

"Was he feelin' ok? Was he complaining of anythin' botherin' him?" Rayna fired off a series of rapid fire questions.

"That's the thing he wasn't. He just said that he had a headache and he was gonna go watch tv." Scarlett replied.

"Ok, I'm gonna call Buck and have him get a plane for me. I'll be there soon." Rayna said forcefully.

"How about you wait until we know more? You know that he wouldn't want you to leave the kids if you don't have to." Scarlett suggested.

"Here is what We'll do. You call me back as soon as you know something and if I need to come I will come then. But you have to keep me updated." Rayna bargained with her.

"Of course whatever you want." Scarlett agreed.

"You give him a kiss from me and you tell how much I love him when they let you see him." Rayna ordered her.

"I'll make sure to do that." Scarlett wasn't going to deny her anything that she asked for.

"Ok, you call me as soon as they get his test results back or if anything important comes up." Rayna told her.

"I will you just try to get some sleep. He wouldn't want you to be all worried 'bout him." Scarlett didn't really know what else to say.

"I don't know what else he expects from me. I love that stubborn asshole. I love you too, sweetie. I'll talk to you later." Rayna had to get off the phone she didn't know how much longer she could maintain her composure.

"I love you too. I'll call you when I know somethin'." Scarlett hung up the phone.

Rayna carefully wiggled out from under Jack and tucked the covers around him. She couldn't just lay there and wait for news. She was way too keyed up for that. She padded down the stairs and turned the living room lights on. If she had to wait she might as well have something to take her mind off things.

* * *

Deacon groaned as his eyes fluttered open. He could only make out fuzzy shapes at first. He closed his eyes and blinked them so he could focus. The first person he saw was his niece. "Scarlett?"

"Oh thank God, Uncle Deacon." Scarlett planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

"What happened?" Deacon asked groggily.

"Hey, old man, we came back to the hotel room and you were passed out face down on the ground. What were you doin'? You scared the hell out of us." Gunnar put his hand on Deacon's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare ya'll." Deacon apologized.

"Uncle Deacon, I have to ask. Were you drinkin'?" Scarlett hated to ask him that, but she had to know.

"No, I wasn't drinkin'. I just remember bein' real light headed and dizzy." Deacon answered her.

"He wasn't drinking we got his blood work back and it was clean for alcohol and drugs." A doctor walked into the room.

"Well that's good." Gunnar said innocently.

"This looks like something a little more serious." The doctor said solemnly.

"Lay it on me, doc." Deacon made a give it to me gesture with his hands.

"We ran a battery of tests on you when you came in. We did a catheterization of your heart. At some point in the past you must have had an injury to your pulmonary artery. Over time left untreated it's only gotten worse. The reason that you're showing symptoms now is because this case of pneumonia has brought them out." The doctor began her explanation.

Deacon listened as the doctor explained what was going on with him and how they could treat it. Truthfully most of it went over his head.

"Not a word to Rayna 'bout this. Understand? All she is to know is that it was the pneumonia. I'll get this taken care of when I'm ready to. I don't wanna be out of commission for Maddie's weddin'." Deacon said once the doctor had left.

"Deacon, she's your wife you can't just not tell her." Gunnar argued with him.

"I will tell her when the time is right." Deacon replied.

"Alright, you can tell her in your own time. But if you don't do it in the time that I think you should I will tell her myself." Scarlett put her foot down with him.

"Alright, I agree that's fair." Deacon couldn't ask for much more than that.

"Deacon John Claybourne, don't you dare ever scare me like that again." Rayna rushed into the room. She had decided she'd had enough waiting around and it was time for her to see for herself that her husband was ok.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to scare you." Deacon smiled weakly.

Rayna kissed him passionately. "I'm too relieved that you're ok to be mad at you. I won't even say I told you so."

"But you did tell me that I needed to take it easy that I'm not as young as I used to be. You get to say I told you so in this case." Deacon felt bad for holding back on her, but it was for her own good. She was so busy planning Maddie's wedding she didn't need him to put any more stress on her.

"It doesn't matter, baby. I'm just gonna get you discharged and then get you on a plane home so I can take care of you." Rayna ran her hand along the stubble on his jaw.

"You ain't gotta take care of me, babe. You shoulda stayed at home with the kids. They need you more than I do right now." Deacon kissed the palm of her hand.

"We take care of each other, babe. It's what we do." Rayna placed a tender kiss on her forehead. She would have killed him had she known he was keeping things from her.

* * *

A/N:Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I have things moving a little faster pace now that I'm into it. We still have a lot of story left to go. Until next time please review.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 18

"It should be illegal to have to be up this early for anything less than an amazing shoe sale." Maddie moved through her apartment like a zombie.

"Hash this out with your mother. She is the one that arranged for the photographer to do our engagement photos. She wants them to start with my momma and daddy's ranch in Dallas. So, we'll do a few there and then we will come back up here and do some more in two days. Personally I don't understand why we need all this crap, but you and our mothers decided that this was a good idea." JC picked up their bags.

"If it makes you feel any better. I now fully regret that decision." Maddie groaned and rested her head against his chest.

"Good God, the way you two are carrying on you would think that someone was sending you off to your deaths. Rather than doing something for your wedding." Daphne scoffed. She had a room here as well as at the ranch. It was anyone's guess as to which one she was going to use when. She just kind of floated around from place to place on a whim.

"It is entirely too early in the morning for her to be this alert and cheerful. Honestly, she's a musician she should have as hard a time with this as I am." Maddie pouted.

"Cricket, I'm a musician too and you don't hear me bitchin' 'bout bein' up this early." JC pointed out to her.

"You're also a Green Beret you people do more shit before five AM than most people do all damn day you don't count." Maddie corrected him.

"I'm a morning person and you aren't. You take after dad that way. Dad is at his best at oh one or so in the afternoon." Daphne told her.

"Why are you here? And what are you doing up this early?" Maddie asked.

"I'm here, because it's technically my apartment too. I'm up this early because Joel has nothing better to do today and he wants to be a tourist. I'm gonna show him around Nashville, but first we are heading down to the Jack Daniels' distillery, because he really wants to see it." Daphne explained.

"I knew that I liked that guy for a reason. He obviously has good taste in booze and women." JC grinned.

"Oh, stop it's not like that. We are just friends." Daphne blushed.

"Like Jimmy and I were just friends?" Maddie teased her.

"You and Jimmy have never been just friends. There was always an undercurrent of sexual tension between you two." Daphne called her on her bullshit.

"Daph, I think that was kinda her point." JC scrunched his forehead up.

"That was my point exactly. You like Joel as more than a friend. You want to see him naked and get to know him in a biblical sense. You probably even wanna marry him and have his babies." Maddie really got going on her sister.

"Maddie, I'm not to the point of thinking about marriage and babies. That's you. Don't put your hang ups off on me." Daphne zinged her.

"Someone is in rare form today." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"Maddie, as much as I would love to stand here and listen to you and Daphne go at it all day. We have to get goin'. The plane is waitin' for us at the airport." JC tried to get her moving.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming." Maddie relented.

"The sooner we do this the sooner we can get this over with." JC sighed. He wanted to do anything, but this.

"Daph, remember to lock up before you leave." Maddie called on her way out the door.

"I will." Daphne yelled after her.

* * *

"Hey, sleepy head, you slept through breakfast. I was starting to wonder if you were gonna sleep through lunch too." Rayna smiled when Deacon made his way into the kitchen.

Deacon stopped and pecked her lips. "I was coughin' and hackin' all night. I had a hard time sleepin'. How'd you get all these monsters to be quiet?" He went around and kissed all his children on the head.

"I just told them that daddy needed his rest and they had to be quiet, because you are a light sleeper." Rayna replied.

Deacon sat down at the table and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "That was awfully nice of ya'll to be quiet so daddy could sleep. I sure appreciate it."

"You're welcome, daddy." Charlie smiled at him sweetly.

"We just want you to get better. It's our birthday soon you know." Deac reminded him.

"I do know that. I was there the day you were born." Deacon laughed.

"Are you sure that Deac came out first? I think that I'm older." Jayme asked.

"I'm pretty positive on that one." Deacon shot him down.

"You have to get better so you can play Merle for me, daddy." Jack piped up.

"I love playin' Merle for you, Henry." Deacon reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Mostly we just want you to get better so you can be up and do things with us." Rayna wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his cheek.

Deacon put his hand on top of hers. "I wanna be better for ya'll too. I miss ya. I feel like I hardly see ya anymore."

"You're on the mend. It's just gonna take you a little longer to bounce back than it used to." Rayna returned to the stove.

Deacon clutched his chest. It was tight like something was sitting on it. He excused himself from the table and he hurried into the music room. If he was going to have one of these spells he wasn't going to do it in front of his kids. He just sort of fell into a chair. His skin was ashen and clammy. He had absolutely no energy at all. He couldn't even reach for the nitroglycerin he kept in his pocket to get his heart back in the correct rhythm.

"Deacon, where'd you take off to so fast? What are you doin'?" Rayna's tone sounded amused. She walked into the music room to find him. "Deacon!" She yelled out when she saw the state he was in.

"Ray," Deacon said her name weakly. There was a bluish purple tint around his lips.

"Deacon, talk to me, babe." Rayna shook him and tried to rouse him so he could talk to her.

Deacon's head lolled limply to the side. Every breath he took was labored.

Rayna patted down his pockets looking for his phone. She found his bottle of nitro and studied it. "Deacon, this is really important. Where's your phone, babe? I need you to help me out here."

Deacon mumbled something unintelligible and his head drooped again.

Rayna closed her eyes and willed down the panic she felt. "Deac! Bring momma her phone off the counter." She hated like hell to drag her baby boy into this, but she didn't have another choice. She couldn't leave her husband's side.

Deac rushed in with her phone a minute later. "Daddy,"

"Shh, baby, I know that you're scared right now and that's ok I'm scared too. I need you to be momma's big helper right now though. Can you do that?" Rayna spoke soothingly to him.

Deac nodded his head stoically. "I can do that, momma." His daddy would want him to help his momma out.

"Hold that," Rayna handed him the bottle of nitro tablets. She took her phone from him and dialed 911. "My husband is presenting with symptoms of a heart attack. He's pale, he can't breathe, he can't talk to me, and he is blue around his lips. I found a bottle of nitroglycerin in his pocket." She reported to the operator. "I'm gonna hand you off to my son while I do that." She said after she listened to what the operator had to say. "Deac, this is really important you need to talk to the dispatcher for momma. You can do this." She handed him the phone and took the nitro tablets back.

Deac put the phone up to his ear. He was determined to do a good job for his mother. He gave the dispatcher their address and his father's age. "Yeah, we have a dog." He answered when asked if there were any pets in the house. He ran off and put Elvis up when the dispatcher told him to and he returned to his mother's side.

Rayna pried Deacon's mouth open and placed one of his nitro tablets under his tongue. "There you go, babe, just let that dissolve. That should get your heart beating right again. You stay with me, Deacon John, you don't have another choice. You don't get to leave me now. I need so much more with you." She rubbed his chest willing him to breathe easier. "Deac, go get daddy's phone and call Aunt Tandy. If she doesn't answer you call anyone that you can think of until you get an answer."

"Ok, momma," Deac handed her the phone and he rushed off to find his father's.

"I gave him the nitro tablet, now what?" Rayna asked the dispatcher.

* * *

"Alright, that's perfect, JC, look up at the camera." The photographer told JC.

JC sat atop a split rail fence with his arms wrapped around Maddie's neck. His lips were pressed to her cheek. His brown eyes looked up and stared towards the camera.

Maddie leaned back into him. The hand with her engagement ring was on top of his and there was a genuine smile on her face.

"That was great. Someone would think that you two were a couple of pros at this or somethin'." The photographer joked with them.

"I think that we've had to pose for pictures a time or two." JC chuckled softly.

"Or a thousand times or two." Maddie added.

"You two can take a break and go get changed or whatever you want to do. The next set of shots we do is gonna be in front of the house." The photographer told them.

"I don't know about my bride to be, but I could use a little break." JC said.

"A break is fine with me." Maddie agreed with him.

"Great, while you two do that I'll get set up for the next series of shots You can just come get me when you're ready." The photographer replied.

JC took Maddie's hand and led her into the house.

"There are the two superstars you would think that the ranch had been taken over by someone who is a big deal of somethin'." Jack commented when they walked in.

"You're so damn funny I forgot to laugh, daddy." JC snorted.

"Don't pay your daddy any mind. He just thinks he's funnier than is the case." Dixie told him.

"You'd think we had some sort of foreign dignitary visitin' with the way all work has come to a halt and the colors are flyin' out front." Bobby commented.

"Shut up, Bobby. I didn't ask for this. Blame momma and Rayna. I don't think you wanna go up against either one of them." JC arched his eyebrow.

"No, I do not." Bobby agreed with him.

"If it makes you feel any better I don't like it any more than you do." JC replied.

"But if that's the price we gotta pay to have Maddie 'round. I'd say it's worth it." Bobby pulled Maddie into a big hug. "You're too good for the runt, sweetheart. Make you always remind him of that."

Maddie laughed and hugged Bobby back. "Bobby, you can't see it because you still refer to him as the runt, but he's a good man. In my eyes he's damn near perfect and I love the idiot even when he pisses me off."

"Well, I guess that's fair enough. I know that you make him incredibly happy and I'm grateful to you for that. If anyone deserves to be happy it's Jimmy." Bobby finally let go of her.

"Thank you, Bobby. It means the world to me that you think that highly of me." Maddie smiled at him.

"Now, Bobby, don't you go tryin' to charm my fiancé. You're workin' on what wife number four or five now?" JC teased him.

"I will have you know that I ain't gettin' married ever again. Or at least that was Hailey's advice to me after she took care of my last divorce. She told me that I need to learn how to date instead of jumpin' into one marriage after another." Bobby shrugged his shoulders.

"The world would be a better place if we all listened to Hailey a little bit better. The fact that she married Max aside she's actually pretty smart." JC mused.

Bobby chuckled and pulled JC into a headlock. "It's funny, Hailey was Vince's favorite too. It's only fittin' that ya'll are so close."

JC easily got out of the hold his older brother had on him. "You ain't so bad either."

"Jimmy, ask him." Maddie leveled him with a look.

"I hope you ain't got nothin' to do on June twenty-fifth 'cause you're gonna be one of my groomsmen." JC didn't want to get all touchy feely about it.

"I'll be there." Bobby replied.

* * *

"Ray, I'm so sorry that I didn't answer my phone sooner." Rhett rushed into the private waiting room where Rayna sat with the kids.

"Sweetie, it's ok. You have a life you don't have to be at my beck and call." Rayna told him. She was trying her hardest to keep it together in front of her kids. They had all ridden over in the ambulance with Deacon. They had him in a private room working on him and running tests.

"Where's Tandy?" Rhett was legitimately surprised not to see the older redhead anywhere.

"I guess she's on her way. When I finally got ahold of her she said she'd be here soon." Rayna was just going through the motions.

Rhett kneeled down in front of his niece and nephews. "Hey, guys, I know that you're really scared right now, but your daddy is the strongest bravest man that I know. He's gonna be ok. I think that your momma needs a minute. So, Aunt Sadie is gonna take you guys down to the cafeteria and get you whatever you want. She's just standin' right over there." He pointed to the doorway.

"I can't leave momma. She needs me, Uncle Rhett." Deac protested.

"Sure you can. I will be here with her. Ya'll go on now." Rhett sent them into Sadie's waiting arms.

"Come on, monkeys, let's go on down to the cafeteria." Sadie herded them out of the room.

"Ray, you can let go now." Rhett put his hands on her knees.

"What do I do without him, Rhett? He's all I've known since I was sixteen. Even when I wasn't with him I knew right where he was. I don't know how to live in a world where he doesn't exist." Rayna finally let the tears fall down her face.

"He's gonna be fine, Ray. If he gets any say in the matter you know that he ain't gonna leave you and his babies for anythin' in this world." Rhett kept his emotions at bay while he tried to comfort her. He stood up and pulled her into a hug.

"I know that, Rhett. I really do. You just didn't see him. You didn't see how he looked. He had no color at all and he was blue around his lips. He looked half dead. And apparently that's not the first time it's happened. He had nitroglycerin tablets in his pocket. He's been keeping things from me. Probably for my own good. You know how he is. He doesn't want anyone to worry about him if he can help it." Rayna rested her head on his shoulder.

"He never thinks of himself and that's what gets him into trouble. He's always so worried 'bout makin' sure everythin' is ok for us that he forgets it's our job to take care of him too. I don't mind tellin' you that my big brother is my hero. For him to have everythin' he has after over comin' so much is a testament to his character. I ain't never said it to him, but he's the man I consider to be my dad. When my momma was dyin' he didn't think 'bout how hard it was for him to be in Natchez he just knew that I was hurtin' and he wanted to be there for me." Rhett rubbed her back soothingly.

"Rhett, she's stubborn and there's no getting through to her. You need to step out of the way and let me handle her." Tandy rushed in with Bucky on her heels. "Come here, Rayna." She opened her arms to her sister.

Rayna went into her sister's arms without hesitation. She felt about her the way Rhett felt about Deacon. "He has to be ok, Tandy. I can't do this without him."

"Yes you could. If you had to do this without him you could do it. You aren't going to have to though he's going to be ok." Tandy hugged her tightly.

Rhett stood off to the side. He rubbed his face and tried to keep his emotions under control. His throat got tight and he let out a strangled sob.

Tandy turned around and looked at him. "Come on, sweetie." She motioned for him to come over. She put an arm around him too.

"He's just gotta be ok. My amazingly strong beautiful brother can't go anywhere yet." Rhett leaned into Tandy.

"Rhett, I'm not that lucky. The fact of the matter is I'm still gonna battling it out with Deacon over his slush fund when we're both old and gray. The only different is I'll be able to turn down my hearing aid so I don't have to listen to him." Tandy attempted to lift the mood.

Rayna pulled away from her sister and laughed a little while she wiped her tears away. "Please, Babe, you are way too vain to ever wear a hearing aid."

"Rayna," Dr. Hutchins stood in the doorway with another doctor.

"Dr. Hutchins, how is he?" Rayna asked.

"He's been better, but he is gonna be better than alright soon." Dr. Hutchins replied.

"What does that mean?" Rayna looked confused.

"It means that he needs open heart surgery. I know that it sounds scary, but it's actually safer than a lot of other surgeries out there. Before I became your family doctor I was a cardio surgeon. I've had a lot of success with this surgery in the past and I do at least one of these a week. Deacon is in very good hands." Dr. Hutchins replied.

"I don't understand. I just thought he had pneumonia. That was until I found the nitro in his pocket today." Rayna ran her hand through her hair to smooth it down.

"He did he still does. I owe you an apology. The pneumonia masked the symptoms of the underlying problem. I was right when I thought it was his heart. I was just hoping for the best. I had him do a follow up with me after he was hospitalized in Memphis. At some point his pulmonary artery was injured. Over time and without treatment it's gotten worse. It just so happened that when he was admitted in Memphis I got the alert. I called them and I had them do the catheterization on him. I've been attempting to treat the problem with medications, but they obviously aren't working." Dr. Hutchins explained to her.

"Mike, how long has he known about this?" Rayna asked bluntly.

"He's known for about a month. I wanted to do surgery right away and you know him he threw a fit. I agreed to try it his way. He was adamant that he didn't want to do it before Maddie's wedding. I thought he had more time than this. I did another catheterization on him today and if I don't do surgery within the next week he might not make it. He didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to worry and he knew that you'd make him have the surgery. As a matter of fact, he's still refusing the surgery. He's awake, he's lucid, and he's pissed. I have him hooked up to high flow oxygen because he needs it." Mike dropped the doctor act and talked to her like a friend.

"I'll talk to him. He's not gonna have another choice in the matter. What's next?" Rayna went on.

"Today is Saturday I want him to spend the weekend on some blood thinners and a high dose antibiotic to prepare him for surgery. I'd like to get to him Monday or Tuesday depending on what his blood work looks like. I'm leaning more towards Monday though. I don't want this to get any worse. Also I want you to know that he did not have a heart attack. The chest pain was just telling him that something wasn't right. He's still ashy and weak, but that's to be expected he's not getting enough oxygen to his blood." Mike explained to her.

"Can I see him yet?" Rayna asked.

"Of course you can. I'll take you back to him now." Mike replied.

* * *

"This is the backstage of the Opry." Daphne was giving Joel a tour. They had come in through the artist entrance.

"I can't believe I've been in town this long and this is the first time I'm seein' this." Joel replied.

"I can't believe it either." Daphne grinned at him. "As you can see over here we have the artists' mailboxes. I can see that my mom and dad both have once again forgotten to get their mail. My dad has obviously been sick the last couple of weeks or his would be empty. He normally plays all the shows that are required of him within the first month of the new year."

"Show me where the magic happens." Joel grinned back at her.

"Follow me," Daphne led him back to the dressing rooms. "This is dressing room number one. This door is never closed. It was originally Roy Acuff's dressing room and he adhered to an open door policy. When my dad plays they always put him in here. You can find him holding court back here with guys that he's known for years or some lucky baby artist that he's taken an interest in."

"He strikes me as that type of guy. Another fact that can't be found from a Google search about me. About A Girl gave me aspirations of one day being a world class guitarist. As it turns out I'm nowhere near as good as Deacon Claybourne. So, I stuck to football." Joel nodded his head.

"That doesn't surprise me at all." Daphne led him to another dressing room. "This was my grandmother's dressing room when she played the Opry. Now it's the one that my mom uses when she plays here. They also put Maddie or me in here when they call us to play. If mom happens to play that night too then they put us in the dressing room across the hall. Typically, if I play I play with Maddie since we were a duo before either of us were solo artists."

"Daphne, I'm a Georgia boy. I grew up on a steady diet of country music. I know that." Joel laughed.

"And let me guess you and all your little pervert friends had a thing for my sister." Daphne teased him.

"There ain't a red blooded American man alive that ain't took one look at your sister and had a thing for her. She's sexy in a dirty way. I only say that 'cause Jimmy ain't standin' right there to knock the hell outta me." Joel rose to the occasion.

"So, you're just hanging out with me to look at my sister. Who is dirty sexy and sadly I know just what you mean by that." Daphne moved face to face with him.

Joel put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her quickly, but deeply. "What do you think? I never said that dirty sexy was my type. I go more for the cute, wholesome all American girl type. Who has no damn idea how sexy she really is."

Daphne grinned at him breathing heavily. "I think that tells me all I need to know." She took his hand. "I have more to show you. Come on."

* * *

Deacon had his bed raised at a forty-five-degree angle. It was easier for him to breathe this way. He felt like he was smothering if he laid flat on his back. He mustered up a weak smile. "Hey, Ray," His voice was raspy.

Despite the fact that Rayna was mad at him for keeping something so serious from her she kissed him all over his face. "Oh, thank God, baby. I was so scared. I thought for sure you were gonna die on me."

"You ain't gonna get rid of me that easily. You're stuck with me for a long time to come. I didn't scare the kids too badly did I?" Deacon took some deep breaths. The very act of talking made it hard for him to breathe.

"I know that I'm not getting rid of you that easily. That's why you're gonna let Mike get you taken care of on Monday. I don't want you to argue with me about this. Our babies need their daddy. Yeah they are scared, Deacon. I'm scared. I kept it together for them though and you know Jack he thought it was cool that he got to ride in the ambulance. Jayme isn't too bad. Charlie you know how much that girl loves you. Deac I think I mighta scarred him for life he's been really quiet. You'd be proud of that boy though. He handled himself very well." Rayna put her foot down with him.

"I'll be fine for a little while longer. I ain't havin' surgery, Ray. I need to be in good shape for Maddie's weddin'." Deacon argued.

"You know what? I'm too relieved that you're ok to argue with you right now. Why didn't you tell me that you were this sick?" Rayna sat down next to his bed and took his hand.

"I didn't wanna put too much on you. You're runnin' a record label, raisin' four kids, and helpin' Maddie plan her weddin'. I'm a big boy I can take care of my own health problems." Deacon reasoned with her.

"You are my husband, Deacon. It is my job to take care of you just as much as it's yours to take care of me. All those things you just listed off are a hell of a lot easier for me to do when I have you to help me. You can't help me if you're dead. Maddie is grown she needs you, but not as much as the little ones do. I know that you wanna be there for her for this because of everything you missed, but they need you for the stuff that's yet to come." Rayna buried her face in her hands so he wouldn't see how upset she was. The last thing she wanted to do was stress him out.

"Ray, come on." Deacon gasp for air. He readjusted the tubes in his nose.

"What am I supposed to do without you, babe? I can't do this without you. If you don't have this surgery I'll have to though. It's no longer a matter of you can put this off for a few months. You need to do it now." Rayna sobbed.

"Ray, I just don't know. I'm scared too." Deacon admitted.

"From the way Mike was talking this is just gonna happen again. If it does I'll give them permission to operate on you while you can't make the decision for yourself. Don't make me have to do that. You look half dead right now, Deacon. If you love us as much as I know you do you'll do what needs to be done." Rayna wiped her eyes.

"I'll think about it. That's the best I can do for you right now." Deacon's breathing got more labored.

"Don't get upset just breathe. The kids are gonna wanna see you and I don't want them to see you in this state. I know you're sick and you ain't gonna look much better, but I'm terrified that these are some of the last words I'm ever gonna say to you and we're fightin'. That's how bad you look, Deacon." Rayna stressed to him. She stroked his hair soothingly.

"Do Maddie and Daphne know that I'm here?" Deacon concentrated on getting air into his lungs.

"No, I haven't called them yet. I didn't want to call them until I knew something. I need to call your momma too. I didn't wanna worry her until I knew there was a reason for her to worry." Rayna replied.

"Don't worry 'em with this." Deacon didn't need anyone else fussing over him.

"Deacon, you can't keep this from them. They aren't babies anymore and your momma has every right to know." Rayna told him reasonably.

"Ok, tell them if you must." Deacon relented he was too tired to argue with her.

Rayna laid her head on his chest gently. "I love you so much. You can't leave me, baby."

"I love you too, baby. I'm gonna do my best to stay here with you." Deacon weakly ran his hand through her hair. This was a tough choice for him. He was doing it for Maddie. He didn't want to ruin what was supposed to be the happiest time in her life because he was sick and needed surgery. Not that it mattered anyway he wasn't the one acting as father of the bride.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm gonna let the suspense build for a couple more chapters on you guys. Only because I didn't want it to feel rushed through. I want to take my time on this. Until next time please review.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 19

Deacon buried his face in his elbow and proceeded to cough from the very depths of his soul. "Oh, that hurt like hell." His eyes watered and his face was red.

"You ok, baby boy?" June asked her son. She had taken up residence in the corner of his room and she was knitting.

"No if the heart condition doesn't do me in the pneumonia will." Deacon groaned.

"Deacon John, don't you dare talk like that." June scolded him.

"Alright, ya'll come in and say hi to daddy. You can only stay for a minute because he needs his rest." Rayna led her kids into the room. She had Jack in her arms.

"Hi, my babies, come here." Deacon put up a brave front for them.

Charlie didn't hesitate to crawl up in the bed with him. "Daddy, you're ok, I was so scared."

"I know, Pistol, daddy is sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Deacon cuddled her as best he could.

"When you come home, daddy?" Jack asked. Rayna bent down so he could kiss Deacon's forehead. She sat him on the side of the bed.

"I don't know yet, Jack Henry." Deacon told him.

"Will you be home for my birthday?" Jayme asked him.

"I really hope so, Rebel." Deacon ruffled his hair when he walked over to his side.

"Deac, don't you wanna go see daddy?" Rayna tried to get her oldest son to go to her husband.

"I'm ok here." Deac looked down at the floor.

Deacon waved his son over. "Come here, Outlaw."

Deac shuffled over to his side slowly. "What, daddy?"

"Momma told me that you were her big helper earlier and I want you to know how proud daddy is of you." Deacon took his hand. He was the closest to him out of all three of his sons.

"I just did what you'd want me to. Are you gonna die daddy?" Deac's big blue eyes filled with tears.

"Sure one day I will, but not now. Not when all my monkeys need me." Deacon squeezed his hand weakly.

"Daddy, your hands are cold." Deac told him.

"I know," Deacon started to have trouble breathing again. "Daddy, just wants you all to know how much he loves all of you." He managed to kiss them all before he gestured to Rayna with his eyes for her to get them out of the room.

"Alright, you guys saw daddy. Now you're gonna go sit with Aunt Sadie again." Rayna rushed them out of the room.

Deacon was sitting up in bed gasping for breath when she came back. He waved for her to come closer to him. "My brother," he wheezed out.

"Ok, baby, I'll get him for you. He's right in the hall." Rayna stuck her head out the door and waved Rhett in. "He's asking for you."

Rhett went to his brother's side. "Hey,"

Deacon had him bend down and he put his hand on the back of his head in an affectionate gesture. "I love you, I'm proud of you. Take care of Ray for me." He gasped.

"I love you too, Deacon. I'll keep an eye on her for you while you're in here, but you're not going anywhere. Do you hear me?" Rhett hugged him.

"Ray, I love you." Deacon coughed and his monitors started beeping loudly.

"Deacon, no!" Rayna yelled out. She grabbed his hand as a bunch of medical personnel rushed into the room.

* * *

"Momma, I'm starvin' when are we eatin'?" JC asked his mother.

"Soon, baby boy." Dixie replied.

"As well as I can tell everyone is here. What's the hold up, momma?" Bobby asked.

"I'm the hold up, Bobby. She was waitin' on me. I had to get a section of the fence fixed." A dark headed, dark eyed man of about thirty-five walked in the kitchen door.

"Jeremy," JC said his voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey, little brother." Jeremy waved at him.

"Don't you hey little brother me. How long have you been on the straight and narrow this time?" JC asked with ice in his voice. Jeremy was Vince's other son that his parents had raised.

"Almost a whole year." Jeremy replied.

"Do us all a favor and make sure you keep it that way this time. You've put momma and daddy through more than enough." JC told him.

"You know just because we're not all toe the line golden boys like you doesn't mean you have the right to look down your nose at us. You're a hero and you've got your big career and your country princess. That don't make you no better than the rest of us. We both came from the same place." Jeremy replied.

"Don't you fuckin' call her that. You don't even know Maddie. You don't know me anymore. Don't act like you do, Jeremy." JC shot back.

"I know all I need to know about you, Jimmy. You always have thought you were better than I am. I got news for you we both have the same damn genes. You have just as much of a chance of bein' like Vince as I do." Jeremy got up in his face.

JC drew his arm back like he was going to hit him.

"James Clay, don't you dare. You know better than to let your temper get the better of you like that." Maddie called him down.

"You're lucky, pal. She just saved your ass." JC pointed his finger at his brother.

"Since your brother isn't going to introduce us I'll take care of that. I'm Maddie." Maddie offered her hand to Jeremy.

"I'm Jeremy. It's nice to meet you." Jeremy shook her hand. "What am I doin'? You're gonna be family. Come here." He hugged her.

"It's nice to meet you too." Maddie laughed.

"Damn it, Jimmy, come here. I've missed you." Jeremy opened his free arm to his brother.

"I've missed you too, Jer." JC relented and hugged his brother.

"See? That's how brothers are supposed to get along." Dixie beamed at them.

"Jimmy would have been in the right to sock him a good one though. He could use it." Bobby grumbled.

"Robert, you ain't helpin' matters any." Dixie scolded him.

"Oh, you're in trouble. Momma just called you Robert." Jeremy gave his brother a hard time.

"Shut up, Jeremy. I'll finish what Jimmy started if you keep up with me." Bobby warned him.

JC grabbed his phone out of his pocket when it rang. "This is Grayson." He listened to his caller. "Rayna, of course whatever you need we'll be right there. I'll have her call you as soon as we get to the airport. It's no trouble at all. I'll see you soon." He hung up the phone.

"Jimmy, what was that about?" Maddie asked him.

"Cricket, we gotta go. That was your momma. Your daddy is in the hospital and he's not in good shape. I didn't get the full details from her. She just said that we need to get back now." JC reported.

"I'll call her on the way. It's probably from the pneumonia. I'd say that we could wait it out and just leave in the morning, but if she says we should go now I guess we should." Maddie replied.

"I'll drive ya'll to the airport." Jeremy volunteered.

"Thanks, Jer, I'll go grab the bags." JC replied.

* * *

Daphne reached across the table to grab the check for dinner, but Joel stopped her.

"Don't you dare. When I take a woman out for dinner I don't expect her to pay." Joel grabbed the folder and put his credit card in it without bothering to look at the bill.

"Oh, really? I will have you know that I'm a strong, independent woman who is capable of paying for her own dinner." Daphne smirked at him.

"And I am a southern gentleman who pays for dinner on the first date. Givin' the fact that we've been together all day that makes this a date." Joel grinned back at her.

"You plan really great dates then. The Jack Daniel's distillery, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman, the Grand Ol' Opry, the Parthenon and Kayne Prime for dinner. I've had boyfriends that couldn't come up with all of that for six dates. Very impressive, Mr. Preston." Daphne sipped her wine.

"I believe that you picked all those places out. You're the impressive one, Ms. Claybourne." Joel finished off his whiskey.

"This little tour could very well end in the Gulch for a night cap if you're so inclined." Daphne had just invited him back to her and Maddie's apartment without using those words.

"What kind of boy do you take me for? I don't just go home with women on the first date." Joel's eyes lit up with mischief.

"Well, you're one of those red blooded American boys that think my sister is dirty sexy, so I guess I just assumed that you'd be into that kind of thing on the first date." Daphne rose to the occasion.

"I didn't want to go makin' assumptions 'bout the all American girl next door. Good girls don't do things like that on the first date." Joel winked.

"I'm only a good girl out in public." Daphne made a show out of licking her lips. She laughed at the expression that came to Joel's face.

"I see how it is. Girls like you know how to get boys like me in trouble." Joel countered.

"I prefer to think of it as fun." Daphne giggled.

Joel reached across the table and took her hand. "I like the sound of your laugh. You should do that more."

Daphne took a ragged breath. His big hands were surprisingly soft given what he did for a living. She could just imagine how they would feel on other parts of her body. She was brought out of her fantasy by her phone ringing. "Excuse me, Joel, I have to answer that. It's my mom. That's the third time she's called me in fifteen minutes. It must be important." She knew from the ringtone that it was Rayna calling her.

"Please, by all means answer your phone. I don't need your undivided attention. You should always answer your mom." Joel made a gesture with his phone that said it wasn't a big deal.

Daphne took her phone out of her pocket. "Hey, mom, what can I do for you?" She smiled. Her face fell when she heard what her mom had to say. "I'll be right there. It doesn't matter what I'm doing I'm on my way now. I love you I'll see you soon. You give him my love too." She hung up.

"What's up?" Joel asked her.

"I need to get to Vanderbilt they admitted my dad. He's not doing well. I hate to just run out on you like this." Daphne apologized.

"Don't apologize. Please let me drive you though. I wouldn't feel right puttin' you in a cab and you're way too upset to drive yourself." Joel offered.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Daphne asked him. Truthfully she really didn't want to be alone.

"I'm positive I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to." Joel assured her.

* * *

Rayna paced back and forth in the waiting room. She didn't know what could be taking them so long. They had worked on Deacon in his room for close to two hours before taking him down to surgery. She wasn't even sure what they were doing to him. All she knew was he had a blood clot that needed to be removed.

"Mom!" Maddie rushed into the waiting room.

"Hi, sweet girl." Rayna gave her a sad smile.

"How's dad?" Maddie asked.

"He's in surgery right now. He has a heart condition that he needs an operation for. Apparently the blood thinners they gave him dislodged a blood clot that he had and it went to his lung. I don't really know what happened. I just know that the pneumonia is making everything worse." Rayna explained to her.

"He's gonna be ok right?" Maddie's eyes filled with tears.

"Of course he is. If he knows what's good for him. They should be done with him any minute now." Rayna hugged her tightly. She saw the doctor walk in over Maddie's shoulder. "Sit here and hug your sister." She sat her down next to Daphne.

"Rayna," Mike said when she walked over to him.

"Just tell me, Mike." Rayna steeled herself for what he was about to tell her.

"We got the clot. He's gonna be ok. The sooner we can do this surgery on him the better though." Mike told her.

"I'm working on it, Mike. Can we see him?" Rayna asked.

"Yeah he's back in his room. Don't be surprised if he's a little out of it from the sedative we gave him. Try to keep your visits with him brief. Or it's ok to just sit with him as long as you don't make him talk too much." Mike answered her.

"Daph, did you have any idea that he was this sick?" Maddie asked her sister.

"No, I didn't. Neither one of them said anything to me and I semi live with them." Daphne shrugged her shoulders.

"He's having this surgery. I know how to fix his ass." Rayna got steel in her eyes. "Maddie, Daphne, come with me. We're gonna go see your daddy." She waved for her daughters to follow her.

"Is he ok, mom?" Maddie asked.

"He's gonna be fine." Rayna assured her.

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked.

"I'm sure. Uh, listen I'm about to say some things that won't sound that way, but it's just to get his stubborn ass to listen. Just go with it." Rayna told him. She stopped outside of Deacon's room and took a moment to compose herself. "Ok, let's go."

Deacon was again semi sitting up in bed. His eyes were glassy from the sedative, but he smiled. "There's my girls."

"They came to say bye to their daddy, Deacon. If you're not gonna take care of yourself and do what you need to you're not gonna be here." Rayna told him.

"Hey, don't say that. I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to, baby." Deacon's smile faded.

"I know that you didn't mean to, but now you won't do what you need to do to get better." Rayna put her hands on her hips. "Go on, girls, tell your daddy bye."

"Ray, I was just tryin' not to cause no trouble. I didn't want to be all down for Maddie's weddin' or have her have to worry 'bout anythin' other than plannin' it." Deacon stressed to her.

Maddie went to Deacon's side. "Daddy, I love you so much."

"Maddie, what are you doin' here? You're supposed to be in Dallas. I didn't want you to have to come back here cause I'm a little sick." Deacon told her.

"I need to be here with you. I can't think of anywhere else I rather be right now." Maddie kissed the top of his head.

"We both just want you to get better, daddy." Daphne went to the other side of his bed and kissed his cheek.

"I love you girls so much. I'm glad that you're here, but you should be out livin' your own lives and not worryin' 'bout me." Deacon said lazily.

"I love you too, daddy. I can't lose you." Daphne clung to him.

Maddie took in her father's appearance and it was a little much for her. She'd never seen him look so weak and broken before. He hadn't even looked this bad after the surgery to remove half of his liver. "I can't. I have to go. I'll be back later." She rushed out of the room. She didn't want her father to see her cry.

"Daphne, stay with your dad. I'm gonna go after your sister." Rayna told her.

"I won't go anywhere, mom." Daphne swore to her.

* * *

From Deacon's room Maddie went to the hospital chapel. She just sat in a pew staring at the crucifix above the altar. She didn't know how to live in a world without her dad in it. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear her mom come in.

"There you are, Maddie. I've been looking all over for you." Rayna sat down next to her.

Maddie swiped at the tears that were running down her face. "He has to be ok, mom. He has to have this surgery. We can't lose him. I can't lose him now. I haven't had that much time with him. I want him to be here to teach my future children how to play guitar."

Rayna turned to face her and put her hands on her knees. "Baby girl, if you haven't gathered by now he's doing this for you. He won't have the surgery because he doesn't want to ruin your wedding. A wedding that he isn't even a part of. That's how much he loves you."

"I know that, mom. I just love him so much and I don't want to lose him." Maddie broke down sobbing.

It may have been the stress of the day or it may have been that she'd been holding back for far too long, but Rayna gave a bitter laugh. "You love him so damn much that you just shut Teddy right down when he assumed that he'd be the one to walk you down the aisle. You gave absolutely no thought to how that would make your father feel, did you? Let me tell you that hurt him a hell of a lot worse than he's let on. I know that I'm the one who put you in this position, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't have done the right thing. He's only paying for everything personally even though his name isn't the one that's gonna be on the invitations or any of the programs as father of the bride. He wants so badly for things to be perfect for you that he's putting his own life at risk to make that happen. You don't even have the decency to stay in the room and visit with him when clearly that's what he needs right now is to be surrounded by everyone that loves him." She really let her daughter have it.

"Mom, I don't… I don't know what to say to that." Maddie stammered. She was sure that her mother hadn't meant any of that and she just needed to vent.

"It's always all about you, isn't it, Maddie? Again that's my fault too." Rayna broke down crying.

"Mom, I'm so sorry." Maddie put her arms around her.

"No, I'm sorry, baby girl. I didn't mean any of that. I'm just so scared of losing him. The only way that he will go through with this surgery is if you give him your permission. That's what it's gonna take." Rayna hugged her back.

"Mom, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're human too. You reach your breaking point just like everyone else does. I know how much you love dad and how scared you must be of losing him. You get to have outbursts like that. I don't know how I'd feel if it were Jimmy laying upstairs fighting for his life." Maddie reassured her.

"Maddie, I really am sorry though. It's your day you get to have whatever you want. I just feel so protective of him. I guess it's because I'm the person who hurt him the worst out of anyone. I let him take the blame for my actions for the longest time and I now I just defend him by default." Rayna replied.

"It's really ok, mom." Maddie told her again.

"Do you wanna pray with me?" Rayna asked her.

"Yeah, I'd really like that, mom." Maddie nodded her head.

* * *

Daphne checked her phone when it buzzed. Despite the circumstances a small smile came to her face when she saw that it was from Joel.

"Is that from the young man that stayed over at the house the night of the CMAs?" Deacon asked. His voice was so low it was barely above a whisper. Since the blood clot had been removed from his lung a little of his color had come back.

"How'd you know? I didn't even know you were awake." Daphne's hand rested on top of his.

"I'm your daddy it's my job to know things like that. Honestly, I really can't sleep right now. I'm afraid that I won't wake up." Deacon admitted to her.

"Well, that's just ridiculous. You aren't going anywhere." Daphne returned Joel's text.

"I'm gonna try my best not to anyway. You really that redneck don't ya?" Deacon studied her expression.

"I like him so much that it scares me a little. I never felt this way about a boy before." Daphne replied.

"All those other boyfriends you had that was just puppy love. And lord only knows what you thought you were doin' with Jeff Fordham. The point is that you're an adult now and all those feelings are different. I was nineteen when I fell in love with your momma. The way I loved her then and the way I love her now well there's just no comparison. I love her different now than I did when I was twenty-five. Now it ain't the ideals of what we could have and what we could be that I love. I love everythin' that we've built together. I love that we can be partners and do everythin' together. She ain't the girl I love anymore now she's the woman I love." Deacon let it slip that he knew about Daphne and Jeff.

Daphne squeezed her eyes shut. "Does mom know about Jeff? Yeah, I think you're right, dad. When I look at him I can see what we could be together."

"I'll say this. Your momma ain't stupid. The only reason she hasn't said anythin' is cause then it'd be real and she'd have to actually deal with it. That's just one of those things that's better off bein' ignored." Deacon chuckled lightly. Of course that caused a coughing fit. He spit a wad of bloody mucus into a tissue. His chest heaved from the excursion, but he was able to catch his breath after a few minutes.

"You ok?" Daphne squeezed his hand.

"No, I ain't ok at all. That hurt like hell and I just can't catch my breath. I hate to do it to your sister, but I think I'm gonna have to have the surgery." Deacon groaned.

"Have the surgery, dad. You're not ruining anything for me. My wedding is still months away. You should be recovered by then. It just won't be the same if you're not there. And if you don't have the surgery there's a pretty good chance that you won't be. I need you there for the rest of my life not just for one day. So, I'm begging you, daddy, please have the surgery." Maddie said from the doorway.

"Are you sure, Maddie? I wouldn't want to put any more stress on you. I know that plannin' a weddin' can be stressful enough." Deacon asked her.

"I'm positive. Right now you're suffering and you're in pain. I hate seeing you like this. I don't just want you there for my wedding day. I want you there to see your grandchildren. I want you to spoil them rotten. I want you to give them their first guitar lesson on a guitar that you bought them. I want you to be there to see Deac cut his first record. I want you to see Jayme named entertainer of the year. I want you to walk Charlie down the aisle when she gets married. I want you to see Jack graduate college. I want you and mom to be that cute old couple on the front porch in your rocking chairs. For you to be here for any of that you have to take a chance on this surgery." Maddie walked over and kissed his head.

"Alright, Ray, you made your point. You can tell 'em I'll do the damn surgery. Mike won't be happy until he gets to hack away on me." Deacon called out softly.

Rayna walked over to him and kissed him passionately on the lips. "Thank you, baby, thank you. God, I love you so much. I can't be without you."

"I love you too, baby. Can't live without you either." Deacon struggled to catch his breath again.

Rayna put her hand on his chest and rubbed it. "Shh, easy, Deac, just breathe with me. Slow easy breaths, babe." She smiled when his breathing started to even out.

"You called me Deac you never call me that." Deacon smiled.

"I know, but I thought I'd do it for old time's sake." Rayna threaded her fingers through his hair.

"You need to get home with them babies. They need their normal routine." Deacon told her.

"You're crazy if you think I'm leaving your side, baby. I'm here from now until they release you." Rayna kissed his forehead.

"Have 'em come tell me goodnight and then send 'em on home." Deacon replied.

"I'll go get them." Maddie volunteered. She left and returned with her baby brothers and sister a few minutes later.

"Come here and give daddy goodnight kisses monkeys." Deacon put on his best face for them.

"Goodnight, daddy, I love you." Charlie hugged and kissed him.

"Night, daddy," Jayme gave him a hug.

"I love you, daddy, sleep good." Deac half hugged him.

Jack wrapped himself around Deacon and kissed his cheek wetly. "Get better, daddy, I love you."

"Daddy, loves ya'll too. He will see you tomorrow." Deacon blew them a kiss.

"We go home now, momma?" Jack asked Rayna.

"You're gonna home with your sissies. Momma needs to stay here with daddy." Rayna told him gently.

"I wanna stay with you, momma." Jack protested. He primped up like he was going to cry.

"Jack Henry, none of that. You're gonna have a sleep over with your best buddy Jimmy." JC kneeled down and opened his arms to him.

Jack ran into his arms and hugged him around his neck. "We watch cartoons in bed like last time?"

"I think that can be arranged." JC tossed him up in the air and caught him.

"He's on your side of the bed just so you know." Maddie warned him.

"I'm well aware." JC replied.

"Jimmy," Deacon said his name softly.

"Yeah?" JC asked.

"Thank you," Deacon replied simply.

"Let's get going, babe." Maddie wrapped her arm around JC's waist.

Rayna crawled into bed with Deacon once they had left. "Seriously, babe, thank you for coming to your senses about this surgery."

"I like livin' and more importantly I like breathin' without trouble. I kinda came to the conclusion I was gonna have to do this whether I wanted to or not." Deacon wrapped his arm around her.

"You don't get to leave me, Deacon John, do you understand that?" Rayna kissed along his jawline. It was an affectionate gesture rather than a sexual one.

"I'm right here and I will be for a long time." Deacon promised her. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her body next to his. With her there beside him it made him less scared that he wouldn't wake up.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I figured that I would give you a double update today given the way I left the last chapter. Rayna finally let go everything that she had been holding back with Maddie. It was about time that someone said it to her. Until next time please review.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 20

Maddie sat out on the balcony that was off her parents' office with a glass of whiskey on the rocks. She had raided her mother's not so secret stash and found the good stuff. She sipped her drink slowly and looked out at the lake. The stars and moon looked like shining diamonds on the surface of the water.

The words that her mother had spoken to her in anger while she had taken them back still had some truth to them and gave her a lot to think about. They had come back to her in the dead of night lying in bed next to JC with Jack nestled safely between them. She couldn't switch off her brain and just sleep. Those words kept seeping in and attacking her conscience. Irony being a funny thing she couldn't help thinking this must be how her dad felt when his insomnia wouldn't let him sleep.

She picked up an old guitar of Deacon's she had brought out with her and started to play. It was mostly to give her mind something else to focus on. When everything around her went to hell and she didn't know which way was up music was the one thing that always made sense. She'd taken after her father that way. The music had a way of quieting the noise in their brains and refocusing their attention.

"That sounds a little bluesy for you, but it's very pretty." JC walked out on the balcony behind her.

Maddie jumped and her fingers stilled on the strings. "Jesus Christ, Jimmy. You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry, babe, I didn't mean to scare you. What are you doin' out here? It's cold as hell." JC sat down on the chair beside her and picked up her whiskey glass. He took a drink and sat it back down.

"I don't really think that hell is cold, but I know what you mean. I couldn't sleep I have some stuff bouncing around my head." Maddie took a drink out of her glass.

JC took it from her and took another drink. "That is some damn good whiskey. Maybe you have learned a thing or two from datin' me."

"Actually, you'd have to ask my mom where she got that. I got that out of her stash." Maddie told him.

"I think that a little whiskey is a cheap price to pay for a baby sitter." JC teased. He hadn't even married Maddie yet and already he thought of her little brothers and sisters as his own. He would never dream of charging to watch them.

"I think that mom would argue that with you." Maddie replied with a smile that never quite reached her eyes.

"Do you wanna talk 'bout whatever is botherin' you?" JC asked her.

"Yeah, that would help a lot actually. I've had my quiet time to think about it. Now I'm ready to talk." Maddie told him gratefully.

"Tell me where you found the whiskey and I'll be glad to listen." JC drained the last of the whiskey in the glass.

"It's a not so well kept secret. She keeps it in her filing cabinet top drawer under a folder in the back. She has another glass in there too." Maddie told him.

"I'm on it." JC went back into the house. He returned a moment later with two glasses of whiskey. He handed one to Maddie. "Does she really think that's a good hidin' spot?"

"She knows it's not. One of the biggest fights we got in when I was probably seventeen was because I'd been into her whiskey." Maddie was stalling now so she didn't have to talk about what was really bothering her.

"Maddie, don't change the subject. There is somethin' really botherin' ya. I don't think it's your daddy bein' sick. You've seemed like somethin' was botherin' you for a while." JC redirected her.

"I was sitting in the hospital chapel today and mom said some things. I mean I know that she was just upset and didn't mean them, but it didn't make them any less true. I'm so worried about dad, but I couldn't even pick him to walk me down the aisle." Maddie finally got to the heart of the matter.

"I've kinda been wonderin' why you didn't pick Deacon. I didn't wanna fight with ya so I just didn't ask." JC admitted.

"I've been trying to make peace with Teddy for Daphne's sake. No matter what he's still her father and he did raise me and love me for the first thirteen years of my life. He's still my dad too. But then there's the fact that he decided he had more of a right to be my dad than my own father. That wasn't his place to do that. I don't care how big of an alcoholic dad was, mom was the one who chose to stay with him that long knowing how he was. She didn't have to leave me alone with him, but we both deserved to know." Maddie sighed loudly.

"Maddie, I can't imagine the position that you're in. I will tell you this though you can't think with your heart and you can't feel with your head. You need to let one or the other take the lead." JC offered his advice.

"I just feel myself being pulled in two different directions. I could ask them both that would be the fair thing to do, but I still feel like one of them would be getting cheated. And honestly since you asked me to marry you every time I've pictured our ceremony it was dad walking me down the aisle. There was no question about it until Teddy opened his mouth and assumed that it would be him." Maddie ran her hands over her face.

"Babe, I don't think this is the problem you're makin' it out to be. You know what you wanna do you're just scared to do it and make waves. Ultimately it's your call, Maddie. You just have to be the one to say it. Don't let him take this from you too if it's what you really want." JC drained his glass of whiskey in one gulp.

"JC, it's not that simple. I wish it was. You don't like Teddy very much do you?" Maddie sipped her drink.

"You have to be the one to make it that simple. If he loves you he's only gonna want you to be happy and he will accept it. No I don't like him very much at all. That has more to do with the way he treated Daphne when he got out of prison than anythin' though." JC shrugged his shoulders.

Maddie put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply. "Any time I start to forget why I love you, you always remind me. You really are the perfect man for me."

* * *

"Rayna, why don't you go stretch your legs and get a cup of coffee or something? I can sit with him." Gunnar offered. Everyone was taking shifts of coming to visit Deacon.

"I need to be here in case the doctor comes in. I obviously can't trust him to talk to the doctor with anyone else, but me present. He doesn't give me the full story." Rayna leveled her husband with a look.

"Hey," Deacon protested weakly.

"You deserved that. We told you to tell her. I damn sure wasn't gonna be the one to do it. You have no idea how much that killed me keepin' it in." Scarlett also gave him a look.

"You can't fight them both, old man." Gunnar tried to keep the mood light.

"Gunnar, just go get 'em some damn coffee. At least they won't be as crabby while they bitch at me." Deacon coughed.

"Easy, baby." Rayna put her hand on his chest to calm him down.

"I swear that hurts worse every time I do it." Deacon caught his breath as well as he could. He wasn't getting much oxygen at all. Not even the oxygen he was getting through his nose was helping. His skin was even paler than it had been the day before. His lips had a constant blue tint around them.

"Baby, just rest. You don't have to try to talk. I'm right here. You don't have to worry that you won't wake up. Close your eyes. You don't like the oxygen mask. You don't want to have to put it on again." Rayna traced comforting circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Riley is just like him when she gets sick. That stubborn little thing won't do a damn thing we tell her to get better." Gunnar observed.

"All of his sons are like that too. I know that they really don't feel good if they actually lay around." Rayna replied. She looked over and saw that she had Deacon lulled back to sleep again.

"I'll go get you two some coffee I'll be right back." Gunnar kissed Scarlett quickly before he left the room.

"Ya'll really didn't have to come here this early. He had a rough night. He could barely breathe. It was so bad they talked about sticking a tube down his throat to breathe for him. He of course threw a fit about that and got himself even more worked up." Rayna told Scarlett.

"You know that there is nowhere else I need to be right now. You know what he means to me. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that he's sick, but he wanted to do it." Scarlett apologized. She took one of her uncle's hands gently.

"Honey, I don't blame you for not telling me. I know how he is." Rayna smiled at her.

"His hands are freezin'." Scarlett looked up concerned.

"It's because his circulation is so bad right now. His heart is working overtime and the blood flow is being redirected to the places that really need it." Rayna explained.

"I don't know when he's gonna stop thinkin' 'bout everyone else and start thinkin' 'bout himself a little bit. He don't realize that if somethin' happened to him we'd be sad, but the world would keep turnin' without him." Scarlett had her uncle pegged.

"The world wouldn't be as beautiful a place without him in it though. I say it all the time and I know it sounds cliché, but he really is the best man I know. He always has been. Even when he was drinking his meals." Rayna smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead.

A content smile came to Deacon's face in his sleep.

"I don't ever remember him bein' like that. Thank God." Scarlett replied.

"He wouldn't let you see him like that. He was always a drinker, but even when he got bad if we had you he wouldn't touch it. Of course it was always a sure thing that as soon as you left he was gonna really tie one on, but he didn't really drink in front of you. I'm not saying him and Vince wouldn't have a beer or two in front of you, but they didn't get drunk in front of you." Rayna recalled.

Scarlett smiled a little. "Jimmy is a lot like his daddy ain't he?"

"He really is. You remember Vince?" Rayna was a little surprised to hear that. Scarlett had been little when Vince died.

"I remember Uncle Vinny. That's how I know Jimmy's like him." Scarlett laughed a little.

"Only in the good ways, thank God. I have always loved him and Maddie together, but you can bet your ass that I've kept a close eye on both of 'em. They are both a lot like their daddies." Rayna tried to keep an eye on their drinking to make sure that it wasn't getting out hand.

"We all knew that there was somethin' between Maddie and Jimmy before they did. They constantly denied that there was anythin' goin' on with them." Scarlett grinned.

"They were sixteen and nineteen there is no way they understood what they were feeling. I know firsthand how intense a thing like what they have can be. Especially at that age. I think that's why we almost burned each other to the ground so many times." Rayna said thoughtfully.

"I don't know 'bout that. Gunnar and I were older and we still managed to almost burn each other to the ground." Scarlett pointed out to her.

"It just must be something with love that intense." Rayna nodded her head. She looked at Deacon her eyes full of concern.

"He's gonna be ok, Aunt Ray. He doesn't have another choice." Scarlett reached over and took Rayna's hand.

"I know he will be. He's strong and a fighter. I just hate seeing him like this." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"He is pretty damn strong for an old man." Gunnar walked in and handed them both a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, babe." Scarlett smiled up at him.

"Gunnar, you have to get your shots in with him because everyone else picks on you." Rayna teased him.

"He gives it right back to me, but at least he plays fair." Gunnar took a drink of his coffee. "So, June called me."

"Which one and what did they do?" Scarlett groaned.

"Jase he uh was playing his video game and she said he got pissed off and called it a motherfucker." Gunnar reported.

"Of course he did." Scarlett shook her head.

"I don't even know where he heard that word. Deacon is decent about not saying really horrible words in front of the kids." Gunnar looked a little lost.

"Frankie he heard it from Frankie." Scarlett knew that without a doubt.

"Frankie or Paul it was one of those two." Rayna agreed with her.

"I'm gonna stand behind my theory that it was Frankie. My mother's boyfriend is not fit to be around civilized people." Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"That's true." Rayna nodded her head.

* * *

Deacon woke up a few hours later and he seemed to be alone. The only thing he was aware of was the uncomfortable pressure on his bladder. He swung his feet over the side of the bed. He sat up on the edge for a moment to catch his breath and untangle his IV lines and monitors so he could get up.

"Deacon, what the hell are you doin'?" Will sat in the corner of the room in a chair with his cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes. It was his turn to sit with Deacon for a little while.

"I need to get up and piss if that's alright with you." Deacon gasped.

"No that ain't ok with me. You ain't supposed to be up on your own." Will took his hat off and sat it on a table.

"Where's my wife?" Deacon took his oxygen out of his nose.

"She's out in the hall talkin' to your doctor. Aren't you supposed to keep that in?" Will asked him.

"I can take it out to get up and go to the bathroom. I just have to be quick 'bout it." Deacon replied.

"Do you want me to help you?" Will got up and walked over to the side of his bed.

"No I rather you didn't help me, but since my wife is nowhere to be found I guess I'm gonna have to let ya." Deacon gave him a withering look.

"What in the world is goin' on in here?" Rayna came back into the room.

"Your husband seems to have some type of death wish." Will reported.

"Deacon, the oxygen needs to stay in your nose for it to do any good." Mike told him.

"I'd really like to get up and piss. I wasn't aware that I had to ask permission to do that." Deacon grumbled.

"You don't have to ask permission, but you do need help walking to the bathroom. I don't think you need to add a fractured skull to your list of ailments." Mike pointed out on him.

"Only cause you ain't the one that would get to cut my head open and play with it. I still ain't convinced that I really need this surgery." Deacon argued with him.

"Deacon, have the surgery or die those are really your only two options. I promise that I wouldn't have suggested surgery if it wasn't a last resort." Mike told him bluntly.

"Mike, just do me a favor and go terrorize someone else for a little while." Deacon gestured for Will to help him stand. "Just help me get there you ain't gotta stay in there with me."

"Trust me there are parts of you that I don't wanna see." Will walked him to the bathroom.

"Mike, I'm sorry about him. As you can see he's not the most pleasant person in the world when he's sick. And since he's double sick he's got a double dose of asshole going on." Rayna apologized for her husband.

"He's fine. I'm sure that he's in pain and he's crabby. I've actually dealt with worse than him before. He's a relatively young man this has to be torture for him." Mike reassured her.

"This is him any time he's sick. If he didn't have to be in that bed to breathe ok he would be all over this hospital." Rayna replied.

"If he wants to sit in a wheelchair he can tour this floor as much as he wants to. Hell, let him go down to the cafeteria." Mike thought it would be good for him to have a change of scenery.

"He would rather lay in that bed than get in a wheelchair. He might want to go down and have dinner with the kids later. That would be the only way I could get him into that chair." Rayna looked at him thoughtfully.

"Tell him that he has no choice. I'm ordering to get out of this room for a little while. It'll be good for him." Mike gave her an excuse to get him out of his room.

"I'll do that. I'm sorry to make him even more pissed off with you than he already is, but better you than me. I have to live with him." Rayna chuckled.

"That's fine with me. I am for sure going to get to his surgery tomorrow, so make sure he doesn't eat anything after midnight." Mike told her. He wanted to get to Deacon's surgery before he got any worse.

"I'll make sure that he doesn't. Thank you for getting to him so quickly. I honestly thought he was gonna die last night. He couldn't breathe at all. They put the mask on him and that helped and he does sleep a little better that way. But when he's up or the kids are here he doesn't wanna scare them." Rayna ran a hand through her hair.

"I know. It's no problem. He's gonna be ok, Rayna. I'm gonna do everything that I can for him." Mike assured her.

* * *

"Deacon, if you're not still you're gonna make me mess up." Juliette scolded Deacon for moving. She was working on his nails. This was how she was passing the time since it was her turn to sit with him.

"Why would I want to be still? You're doin' this to me against my will anyway." Deacon huffed.

"I'm not even polishing your nails I'm just filing them down. You should appreciate this. It'll make it easier for you to play guitar." Juliette didn't take his bad mood personally. She could give it right back to him.

"I wanna know what I did so wrong that I gotta be stuck with you as a babysitter." Deacon rolled his eyes at her.

"If I had to guess I'd say it's that wonderful mood you're in. Apparently I'm the only one bitchy enough to deal with you right now. I think it came down to me or Tandy and Rayna decided that she couldn't take the chance Tandy would smother you with a pillow." Juliette arched her eyebrow at him.

"I know I'm in a shitty mood and I'm sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you and everyone else. Ya'll are just bein' nice to me and I'm bein' a dick." Deacon took as deep a breath as he could to get some air in his lungs.

"As far as I'm concerned you get to be in as shitty a mood as you wanna be in right now. You look like you're in a lot of pain and I know you feel like shit. Just remember to go easy on your wife so she doesn't let a stranger wipe your ass for you." Juliette gave him her permission to be difficult.

"Damn it, Juliette, don't make me laugh. It hurts to laugh and then I can't breathe." Deacon bit his lip.

"I am so glad I got you in a better mood, because you ain't gonna like what I do to you next." Juliette dug around in her purse and pulled out some makeup.

"What in the Sam hell is that?" Deacon demanded.

"This is to give you a little color before your kids get here. You look like death warmed over and you don't wanna scare 'em. I thought that this would make you look a little better and less like a corpse." Juliette reasoned with him.

"On the condition that you never tell anyone that I let you put this gooey shit on me.' Deacon relented. He could be talked into doing anything for his kids.

"It's a deal. You're gonna be even more handsome than you normally are." Juliette smirked at him.

"Look at you, handsome. You look good." Rayna came in after Juliette had put some makeup on him.

"I feel ridiculous she came at me with all kinda creams and lotions and I don't know what the hell she did to my damn eyebrows." Deacon bitched.

"The only thing I did was clean up that mess so you didn't have a unibrow. You're welcome by the way. A little moisturizer never hurt anyone. Believe me you needed it really badly." Juliette packed her stuff up.

"Thank you, Juliette. He no longer looks like a zombie. If I didn't know you'd enhanced him a little bit, I wouldn't know." Rayna pecked Deacon's lips chastely.

"If only he'd been as compliant as a zombie. You would have thought I was torturing him." Juliette rolled her eyes.

"With as crabby as he is today the very act of makin' conversation with him is torture for everyone involved. I owe you for even sittin' with him. He's already chased Will, Gunnar, and Scarlett off with his sparklin' personality today." Rayna loved her husband to death, but he was even grating on her nerves at the moment.

"Oh, he's fine. He doesn't bother me. Then again I'm like that on a good day." Juliette went over to Deacon and kissed the top of his head. "I need to get goin'. You do great in surgery tomorrow and we will be up to see you when you get out. Go easy on everyone you may be the one goin' through it, but they are all sufferin' along with you." She added. She waved at Rayna before she walked out.

* * *

"Daddy looks so good tonight doesn't he?" Rayna threaded her fingers through Deacon's hair. In addition to the makeup Juliette had put on him he was wearing real clothes instead of a hospital gown.

"He does." Maddie reached over and grabbed Deacon's hand with a smile.

"I'm just so glad to be here with ya'll like this." Deacon smiled back.

"We are glad to be with you, dad." Daphne told him.

"Daddy, how come you have tubes in your nose?" Jayme asked him.

"Daddy is havin' a little trouble breathin' right now and this helps." Deacon answered his middle son.

"Why are you havin' trouble breathin', daddy?" Deac asked.

"Eat your dinner and I will explain that later." Deacon barely picked at his food.

"Aren't you hungry, daddy? You ain't eatin' very much." Charlie looked at him with sad eyes.

"No daddy ain't very hungry. I don't feel good, Pistol. I never eat much when I don't feel good." Deacon winked at her to reassure her he was ok.

"Does that mean I don't have to eat all my food?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Not a chance, Jack Henry, you gotta eat so you grow up to be big and strong." Deacon ruffled his hair.

"Lead by example, babe." Rayna prodded him gently.

Deacon took a bite of his food even though he didn't really want it. "Show daddy how big of a bite you can take."

Jack took a big bite.

"Good job, Henry." Deacon held out his fist for him to bump knuckles with him.

Jack bumped his little fist against his daddy's.

"Both of you make sure to chew your food up good. The last thing I want is the two of you chokin'." Rayna looked at both of them and shook her head. Her boys were such a wonderful beautiful mess from the boy she was married to down to the three she'd given birth to. She stared at the four of them she wanted to commit everything about the way they were together just in case the worse came to pass.

"Since I'm already doin' that let's just keep it confined to me." Deacon put his hand on Rayna's knee and then he let it wander further up her leg.

Rayna looked at him out of the side of her eye. "You behave we are in public." She hid a smirk.

"I'm pretty sure that plumbin' is broke right now and even if it does work I ain't got the breath for that. You take my breath away when my lungs are functionin' right." Deacon kissed her cheek.

'I've never seen you let somethin' like that stop you from tryin'." Rayna leaned her head against his.

"Ok, on that note. Who wants to come with me and Daphne and pick out ice cream?" Maddie felt the need to save the little ones from Rayna and Deacon's cuteness. Of course four little hands shot up in the air in response.

"Come on, you can pick out anything you want to Maddie is paying." Daphne held out her hand to Jack.

"Did you ever think you'd love anythin' as much as them?" Rayna smiled as the kids walked away.

"I thought that I could never love anythin' as much as I loved you and then they came along. What makes me love them so damn much is that they are a part of you." Deacon replied.

"And I love that they are a part of you. Even Daphne the parts she gets from you come from right here." Rayna patted his chest.

"I don't even wanna tell 'em this is gonna break 'em, Ray." Deacon sighed contentedly.

"They are a hell of lot stronger than you give them credit for, babe. They get that strength from you even though you can't see it." Rayna reassured him.

"Alright, ya'll, bring it in and listen up." Deacon was sitting in the recliner in his room. He had all his children huddled around him in a circle.

Rayna stood up against the wall with her arms crossed.

"What's this 'bout, daddy?" Deac asked.

"Daddy's heart is sick and that's why I had to come to the hospital the other day. The doctor is gonna do surgery on me tomorrow to fix it. I know that this is really scary, but I wouldn't do this if it wasn't the best thing for me. I want to be here to see all my monkeys grow up. I need ya'll to be brave for your momma. She's gonna need you tomorrow. Do you think that you can do that for daddy?" Deacon told them.

"Are you gonna die?" Charlie asked him.

"Not if I have anythin' to say 'bout it I'm not." Deacon reassured her.

"How did your heart get sick?" Jayme questioned.

"I'm not really sure these things just happen sometimes." Deacon answered him.

"Are you scared? Do you need Merle?" Jack offered him the teddy bear he carried with him everywhere.

"No, you keep Merle you're gonna need him, but that was so thoughtful, Henry." Deacon gave him a watery smile.

"Ya'll listen to me. Daddy is gonna be just fine. He is strong and he's a fighter. He has another sickness that he fights every day for us. He wins every day. That's how I know that he's gonna win against this." Rayna stooped down to their level with her hands on her knees. She was trying to be positive for them.

"That's right. I wouldn't be havin' this surgery if I thought for a second I wouldn't still get to be here with my babies." Deacon assured them.

"Can ya'll give daddy hugs and kisses and tell him that you'll see him when he gets out of surgery? Ya'll need to get home and get into bed." Rayna encouraged them.

"God, that was so hard, babe." Deacon said after the kids had gone.

"I know it was, but I also believe every word that I said to them. You are gonna be ok. You don't have another choice. We need ya, babe." Rayna kissed him deeply.

Deacon kissed her back passionately. "I ain't goin' nowhere, Ray. I fought too hard and too long for you." He leaned against her for comfort. He was so much stronger with her by his side.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm gonna do something a little different with the next chapter that I think you're really gonna like. Like I said I didn't want to rush through this story line with Deacon, but I promise you it's building up to something good. Until next time please review.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 21

"Show me what you've got, Mr. Claybourne. I paid good money to see these cards." Rayna eyed Deacon. There was a pile of candy in between them on his bedside table.

"You have no idea what you just set yourself up for. I got ya right where I want ya, Mrs. Claybourne." Deacon arched his eyebrow. His insomnia coupled with the fact that he just couldn't breathe had kept him from sleeping, so they had started a poker game to pass the time.

"Then show your cards and quit talkin' 'bout it." Rayna countered.

Deacon laid his hand down on the table. "That's a flush, babe." He started to reach for the candy.

"Hold on just one minute." Rayna laid her cards down. "Full house, sugar, that candy is mine."

"Where'd you learn how to hustle like that?" Deacon grinned at her.

"From this really obnoxious Texan I used to know. He could hustle cards like no one's business. He used to teach me things while I was supposed to be doing homework." Rayna winked at him.

"What is going on in here?" Mike walked into the room.

"In another life we taught my wife how to hustle poker and she learned her lesson a little too well." Deacon retorted.

"As much as I hate to shut down a heater we need to start getting you ready for surgery." Mike said.

"Ok, let's do this. I'm ready to have this over with." Deacon clapped his hands.

"We are ready for this." Rayna patted Deacon's leg.

Maddie and Daphne came into the room before Mike could start explaining anything.

"There are my girls." Deacon waved at them.

"Ok, this surgery is gonna take anywhere from four to eight hours. It is all gonna depend on what I see when I open his chest up. I don't have a set game plan. It could be a simple repair or a valve replacement if that's necessary. I will keep you updated every step of the way. All of his test have come back good I don't anticipate any problems at all. The surgery could take a little longer because I'm gonna have a plastic surgeon help close his chest so he doesn't have a big scar." Mike gave them the run down.

"That all sounds really good." Rayna nodded her head.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Mike asked them.

"No, I think we're good." Maddie answered.

"If ya'll wanna wish him luck do it now. We are gonna take him back and get this show on the road. We want this man back in fighting shape." Mike squeezed Deacon's shoulder.

"Good luck, daddy, you're gonna do great." Maddie kissed his cheek.

"I love you, princess." Deacon smiled.

"I love you, daddy, I'll see you when you get out." Daphne kissed his other cheek.

"I love you more, Squirt." Deacon winked at her.

"Come here, my love, you're gonna do so good. You are gonna feel so much better when get out. Good luck, baby." Rayna kissed him deeply and then pecked his lips over and over.

"I love you so, so much, Ray. I will see you later." Deacon rested his forehead against hers.

"Darlin', I'm gonna be right here waitin' for you. Your momma and your brother will be here. We all love you so much and you get to be as big an asshole as you wanna be with us we're just thankful you're gonna be ok." Rayna rubbed her nose against his.

"I love ya'll too." Deacon ran his hand over her cheek and kissed her again.

"Ok, baby, we gotta let them get you ready now. We are prayin' for you." Rayna had to make herself pull away from him.

"Ya'll girls take care of your momma. She's gonna need you to be strong for her. I'm countin' on you." Deacon blew them a kiss.

"We are gonna take good care of her, dad." Maddie blew him a kiss back.

Daphne put her arm around her mom's shoulders. "Come on, mom. Rhett should be here with breakfast any minute."

* * *

"Rhett, darlin', I love you to death, but you gotta quit that pacin'. You're 'bout to drive me crazy." Rayna looked up at her brother-in-law.

"I can't be still. I'm an athlete we burn off our nervous energy by workin' out." Rhett crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.

"You're gonna be pacin' a long time then." June told him.

"Your brother has a long established history of making everyone worry about him." Tandy added.

"Rollin' in at six AM. Callin' from a jail cell. Gettin' called to a hospital because he drank two fifths of Jack. Tryin' to pay the liquor store clerk in Monopoly money." Rayna listed off.

"Monopoly money?" JC questioned.

"Deacon and Vince you don't need to know any more than that for it to be explained." Rayna shook her head.

"Deacon Claybourne and Vince Grayson those were the names of the four aspirin I'd have to take for the headaches they gave me." Bucky snorted.

"They were that bad together?" Sadie asked.

"That's just puttin' it nicely. Hell on wheels is the perfect way to describe them." Rayna said.

"Mom, you know you've told us where you and dad met and how, but you've skimped on the details a little bit. Tell us now. It'll keep your mind off of worrying about dad." Daphne suggested.

"Do ya'll really wanna hear this?" Rayna asked.

"Yeah, mom, we wanna hear it." Maddie said eagerly.

"Alright, since ya'll twisted my arm I'll tell ya." Rayna crossed her legs and let her mind take her back to that night so many years ago.

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1988

"Hey, Song Bird, you look ready to go." Watty walked into the back room of the Bluebird with a smile on his face.

"I'm so nervous, Watty. I'm afraid that I'm not gonna be any good and they're all gonna laugh at me." Rayna wore a lacy black dress and white cowboy boots with fringe on them. Her red hair was piled on top of her head in curls. Her delicate fingers toyed with the strings of an old guitar.

"Song Bird, you're gonna be great. You have nothing to be nervous about." Watty put his hands on her shoulders.

"It's not my voice I worry about. It's my guitar playing or lack thereof." Rayna replied.

"At least you know what your weaknesses are. I was worried that was gonna be a fight. I have a solution to that problem." Watty informed her.

"I'm open to any suggestion on that front at this point." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"Hold that thought for just a minute." Watty opened the door and gestured for someone to come in. "Rayna, I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Rayna turned around to face the newcomer. "Alright, Watty."

Deacon leaned up against the wall looking every bit the rugged bad boy. His flannel shirt was rolled up at the sleeves. His chin and cheeks were covered with five o'clock shadow.

"Rayna Wyatt, this is Deacon Claybourne he's a damn good guitar player and he's agreed to stand in for you tonight. Deacon Claybourne this is Rayna Wyatt the singer I was telling you about." Watty introduced them.

Rayna offered him her tiny hand. She tried to keep her nerves out of her voice. His deep blue eyes seemed to peer into her soul. "It's nice to meet you, Deacon."

"It's nice to meet you too, Rayna." Deacon shook her hand. The sparkle in her blue-green eyes hypnotized him.

The minute they touched a spark of electricity passed between them. Neither one of them wanted to let go of the other first.

Rayna couldn't help noting that his gruff voice clashed with his gentle touch. His hand was calloused and rough, but it wasn't hard. It was hard for her to explain.

Deacon was gone with one touch. The feel of her silky skin against his blue collar hand had him imagining all kinds of possibilities and only about half of them were pure.

Watty cleared his throat and brought them both back to reality. "You two might wanna get to work on her set you don't have that much time."

"Of course, Wat. I've got her covered." Deacon finally released her hand and looked away from her.

"I'll leave you to it then. Rayna, you're in good hands." Watty excused himself.

Rayna smoothed down her dress self-consciously. Something about this boy made her feel like she was coming undone inside. "So, where did you wanna start?" She asked somewhat awkwardly.

Deacon opened up his guitar case and sat down on the couch. He patted the space next to him. "Have a seat and show me your set list. You tell me how you want it to sound and I will make it happen."

"Just like that, huh?" Rayna pulled out the notebook that held the songs she was going to perform.

"Just like that. I'm pretty good at what I do." Deacon grinned at her.

Rayna looked down and blushed at the sight of his grin. It stirred up feelings in her that no boy had before. "Here's the first song." She said quickly hoping she did a good enough job of hiding her embarrassment.

Deacon's eyes twinkled. That blush was so damn adorable and she didn't even realize it. They'd only spoke a few words to each other and already she had him thinking words like adorable instead of sexy. He studied the song. "What were you thinking for that one?"

Rayna gave him the basic tune that she wanted.

Deacon was able to replicate that tune on his guitar. He was actually able to bring to life exactly what she wanted and it sounded better than it had in her head.

They ran through her whole set list that way. It was like they had been working together for years instead of minutes.

"So, when do you go on?" Deacon asked her.

"I drew one of the middle slots. Not first, but not last either." Rayna answered him.

"For a thing like this that's perfect. You don't wanna go first unless you've got somethin' that can really hook 'em and you don't wanna go last if you ain't got somethin' to make 'em forget about every other act they heard." Deacon laid some of his wisdom on her.

"So, what do you wanna do until then?" Rayna asked him. She felt like she could be bold with him and that would be ok.

"We could go out there and listen to the other acts." Deacon suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds really good." Rayna agreed with him.

They chose to sit a table in the back and listen to the other acts. They didn't really talk they would sneak a glance at each other every once in a while. Just before it was time for her to go on they headed to the back to get ready.

Rayna was edgy butterflies the size of large birds were flapping in her stomach. She shook her hands out and then clenched them into fists.

"If you get scared or nervous you look over at me I'll be right there. You can do this, you've got this." Deacon squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. He could tell that she was on the verge of a panic attack.

Rayna just nodded her head.

"That ain't gonna cut it, darlin', say the words to me." Deacon was firm, but gentle with her.

"I can do this, I've got this." Rayna repeated. She took a deep breath and she felt her nerves settle down some.

"Damn right you can." Deacon smiled at her.

The minute Rayna stepped out on that stage all of the nerves melted away. It felt right like she was born for this moment. The even more incredible part came when she and Deacon preformed together. It was magic and art and poetry wrapped up in one. He knew just when to add his voice to make the vocals better and when to pull back and let her do her thing.

Several times their eyes met and they held each other's gazes for longer than was needed.

"Woohoo, Song Bird, that was amazing. Wow, even I doubt that I just introduced you two earlier that sounded natural. It was like you two have been doing that together forever." Watty praised her.

"Thank you so much, Watty." Rayna put her hand to her chest.

"Listen, I wanna talk to you some more before you leave, but now my duty calls. You behave yourself and find me if you need anything at all." Watty gave her a quick hug.

"So, did you wanna listen to a few more of these acts with me?" Deacon asked her after he'd put his guitar away. If it were at all possible he wanted to spend more time with her. She intrigued him she was worth more than one night of study before stumbling out of her life the next morning. She made him want to stick around.

"Really?" Rayna heard how much she sounded like an overly eager little girl who a popular boy had shown a little bit of interest in. "I mean if you want to I don't have anywhere else to be."

"Yeah let's go sit. I need to know more 'bout you. You have some serious talent and that's no lie." Deacon offered her his arm.

"Thank you. You play that guitar just about better than anyone I've ever heard." Rayna took his arm.

Deacon pulled her chair out for her and then sat down across from her. He took a pen out of his shirt pocket and started writing on a cocktail napkin. "So, where did you learn to sing like that?"

"I guess it's just always somethin' that's been in me. I share a love of music with my momma." Rayna opened up to him.

"You're damn good at it." Deacon looked up at her while still writing on the napkin.

"What about you? Where did you learn to play guitar like that?" Rayna asked him.

"Some of it my pawpaw taught me and some of it I taught myself." Deacon answered her. He didn't go into any more detail than that. He didn't like talking about his past.

"The only thing my pawpaw taught me was how to fetch his drinks and how to shoot a gun. If you can't tell he was in hopes of havin' a grandson." Rayna mused.

"That's a skill set anyway. If this was the old west. Those two things were pretty much engrained in me. You don't come from where I do without learnin' those things early." Deacon cracked a smile.

"Where are you from, Deacon Claybourne? That accent is definitely not from around here." Rayna smiled back at him.

"Natchez Mississippi. You're either born tryin' to get outta there or you belong to the damn river." Deacon snorted.

Rayna looked down at what he was writing on that napkin. "What are you workin' on there?"

"A song 'bout what I see when I look at you." Deacon pushed the napkin over to her.

"A life that's good." Rayna blushed. She'd had boys to pursue before, but never one who had been so forward.

"With you I don't see how life can be any other way." Deacon reached over and put his hand on top of hers.

"You don't know who I am do you? If you did you would not be makin' comments like that." Rayna gave him a skeptical look. Boys tended to toe the line with her to impress her father.

"I know that you're Lamar Wyatt's baby girl. I just don't give a damn. I'd have to be half dead to not recognize the name it's only on half the buildings 'round here. You ain't your daddy and I ain't mine." Deacon arched his eyebrow and smirked.

Rayna's heart fluttered in her chest. Normally when boys figured out who her father was they either ran the other way or tried to use her to get into his good graces. "I've never met a boy like you before and it only makes me wanna know more about you."

"If you wanna know more 'bout me you're just gonna have to see me again." Deacon leaned over the table and got into her personal space.

In any other circumstance Rayna would have found his forwardness uncomfortable, but it only made her want to spend more time with him. There was just enough of a bad boy in him to attract her to him like a magnet. "My daddy would have a heart attack. I don't recall ever seeing his hands look as dirty as yours a day in his life. You have a workin' man's hands."

Deacon looked down at his hands. His nail beds had a crust of oil around him from one of the many odd jobs he'd taken to keep himself afloat. "Well, it was worth a try. You never know a workin' man's hands could teach some interestin' things." He leaned even closer to her.

"I just said my daddy would have a heart attack not that I don't wanna see you again." Rayna leaned into him instead of shying away. She felt like she'd known him for a million years and she was comfortable with him.

Watty walked over to the table to talk to Rayna. He saw how close she was to Deacon and he sighed. She was most definitely her mother's daughter when it came to her taste in men. She came from a world she was unsuited for, but she didn't quite fit into the world she was meant for either. He figured he better break them apart before something happened to Lamar even more of a reason to hate him. "Song Bird, I just wanted to tell you again how great you did tonight."

Rayna reluctantly disengaged from Deacon to talk to Watty. "Thanks, Watty. I really owe you one for getting me this chance."

"I only got you the chance. You have the talent to back it up. If you want to do something like this again you better get going if you don't want your daddy to find out. He'd put a stop to this if he did." Watty gave her the hint that it was time to go.

Rayna stood up and hugged him. "Thank you so much for tonight, Watty. Let me know when I can do this again."

"You've got people talking. You will be hearing from me soon. Now, get outta here." Watty kissed her cheek.

"So, I guess you've gotta go." Deacon scrunched up his forehead.

"Yeah, I better get outta here. It's not a good idea to piss my daddy off too much. There's no sense in wavin' the red flag in front of his face if I can fly under the radar." Rayna nodded her head.

"Can I walk you to your car?" Deacon asked hopefully.

"I only thought you were never gonna ask." Rayna gave him a flirty smile. Or at least her best version of one. She was inexperienced when it came to boys. Boys in her world either didn't take interest in her or they only wanted one thing from her.

"Let's get you home then." Deacon offered her his arm again.

"I just have to get my guitar first." Rayna took his arm without hesitation.

"The guitar that you hold like you're not comfortable with it." Deacon teased her.

"My talents lie in other places." Rayna laughed.

Deacon closed his eyes. Her laugh was like a sweet song meant only for him. "It's a damn good thing."

They collected her guitar and then walked out to the parking lot.

Rayna put her guitar in the backseat of her Mustang convertible. It and the guitar were some of the only things she had left of her mother. She leaned up against her driver's side door. She knew that she needed to go, but she didn't want to leave him. "Well, I should be goin'. I wanna beat my daddy home. That way with a little bit of luck he will never know that I was out."

"Yeah, you should do that." Deacon threw all caution to the wind. He pulled her to him and kissed her full on the mouth.

Rayna pulled away from him breathing heavily. "What was that for?"

"Incentive for you to see me again. And I will be seein' you 'round, Rayna Wyatt." Deacon winked at her and walked away with a cocky strut.

Rayna's lips still tingled from the feel of his mouth on hers. She brought her hand up to her lips and smiled. "I'll be seein' you 'round, Deacon Claybourne." She whispered softly to herself. She watched his retreating form until she could no longer see him. She got in her car and drove away.

* * *

"So that was it? That was how he hooked you?" Maddie asked an amused look on her face.

"I hooked him just as much as he hooked me. That was how it happened though. I was not expecting him to kiss me. I have never had another man kiss me like that. I'd had other kisses before him, but that was the first time a boy had kissed and he knew what he was doin'. That kiss rocked my world. That boy was all I could think about. He was trouble in jeans and flannel. I knew it, but I just didn't give a damn. I wasn't gonna stay away from him." Rayna answered her.

"So you mean to tell me you do have some common sense when it comes to him?" Tandy clutched her chest like she was shocked.

"I do I just ignore it. He still makes me feel that way. I wake up every morning to those intense eyes staring into mine and I fall all over again. I'm fifty years old, so that man has been in my life by my side one way or the other for the last thirty-four years. When I don't know where to turn I turn to him." Rayna replied.

"I believe you're creeping up on fifty-one, little sister." Tandy corrected her.

"I know how old I am. I don't need you to remind me. I'm trying to tell a damn story here." Rayna gave her a dirty look.

"A story that involves you, a dirty guitar player, a crazy drummer, and a whole lotta booze." Tandy snorted.

"I drank my fair share of that booze it wasn't just the guitar player and the drummer. You're getting way ahead of things. I hadn't even met the drummer yet. Who I had a mutual dislike on sight with by the way. He thought I was some Belle Meade Princess that was gonna jerk Deacon around and play with his with his heart just to piss my daddy off. And I thought he was some lazy ass lay about that was only gonna drag Deacon down. In the end it turned out we were both right. If only for a little while." Rayna ran her hands over her face.

"You and Vince didn't like each other?" JC asked.

"Vince and I had very strong feelings of dislike for each other when we first met. I realize now that he was just protecting Deacon. We both did a lot of that. I protected them both. I came to love Vince like the brother I never had. Which is how you got your name by the way, James." Rayna teased him.

"Really? Cause I think my first name is missin' a letter for that to be true." JC made his eyebrows dance.

"Two things about that. One Vince couldn't spell to save his life. Two I asked him not to so you didn't have to explain for your entire life that there's a Y in your name. You're welcome." Rayna winked at him.

"You didn't feel that way when it came to Jayme though. Also I'm pretty sure it's not normal for a mother-in-law and a son-in-law to like each other as much as you two do." Maddie pointed out.

"I did not name Jayme I named Deac. And I love that boy. He is good to you and for you. As your mother I can't ask for anything more than that. One day you will understand exactly what I'm talking about." Rayna patted her knee.

"It probably also helps that he makes her a lot of money." Tandy didn't help matters any at all.

"Thank you for that, Tandy. That's why you like him." Rayna rolled her eyes at her sister.

A nurse walked into the room. "Mrs. Claybourne,"

Rayna stood up. "What is it?"

"Dr. Hutchins wanted me to tell you that he just took your husband back to the OR and he will keep you posted. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask." She smiled at her.

"Thank you, so much." Rayna smiled back politely.

"It's no problem at all." The nurse replied.

"Now, we wait." Rayna covered her face with her hands.

Rhett held out his hand to her. "Take my hand, Ray."

"What are you doing?" Rayna held his hand.

"You'll see." Rhett offered his other hand to Maddie.

"Is this the thing that you do?" Maddie asked him.

"My great grandfather was a Baptist minister let's see if a little of that didn't rub off on me." Rhett bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Dear heavenly father, we ask that you watch over my brother give him the strength to endure this surgery and grant him a speedy recovery. Dear lord, we all depend on him more than he realizes and that's why he doesn't take care of himself. He's too busy takin' care of all of us. What I'm tryin' to say is we all need him and if you could see fit to let him make it through this we'd be eternally grateful. In your name we pray, amen."

"Amen," Everyone else in the room answered in a chorus.

"That was pretty good for someone who has the impressive profane vocabulary that you do." Sadie praised him.

"I did learn a thing or two all those Sundays my momma made me sit through church." Rhett shrugged his shoulders.

"Ok, talkin' keeps me from goin' crazy. Who wants to hear 'bout the next time Deacon and I saw each other?" Rayna sank back into her chair.

"Darlin', you just go on and tell us." June squeezed her shoulder.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm giving you guys another double update. Until next time please review.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 22

Nashville, Tennessee 1988

Deacon's lanky frame was leaned up against the tailgate of his truck. A leather jacket hung off his shoulders and he gazed over his pair of aviators. He gave off a casual appearance like he belonged there. In reality he didn't. He actually looked like some crazed stalker. He took a pack of cigarettes out of his inner jacket pocket.

He shook a cigarette from the pack and put it between his lips. He lit it and took a deep drag off of it. He blew the smoke out his nose. He casually eyed the students milling around the parking lot. His eyes finally settled on the one he was looking for. She was talking to a group of girls that looked to be her age. Her long strawberry blonde hair was blowing in the breeze. He would have smiled if not for the cigarette dangling from his bottom lip.

Finally, she made her way to her car, which was parked right now to his truck.

"You just gonna get in the car without lookin' my way, Wyatt." Deacon's voice was gruff and raspy. Truthfully he'd just woke up a little while ago after an all-night bender and he was feeling it.

"Oh my God, Deacon! What are you doin' here?" Rayna turned to look at him. She looked at his full lips and in the moment she really envied that cigarette. She knew what those lips were capable of. She could still feel them on hers a week later.

"I thought you might have missed me. I couldn't deprive you by stayin' away." Deacon held his cigarette between his fingers.

"You aren't lackin' at all in the confidence department, are ya? How did you even know where I go to school?" Rayna questioned him.

"No I'm not at all. Some things are just better left to mystery. Do you really wanna ask me a bunch of pointless questions or wouldn't you rather know why I'm here?" Deacon flicked his cigarette butt away.

"What are you doin' here?" Rayna asked him.

"I got a call from Watty. He actually woke me up or I'd still be in bed enjoyin' my day off. As it turns out there were some bigshots at the Bluebird last week and they loved us together. Watty wants us to cut a demo. He let me have the honor of tellin' ya." Deacon waited to take in her reaction.

Rayna's eyes went wide with surprise. She jumped into his arms and hugged him. "Deacon! That is so amazing I couldn't have done this without you."

"I didn't do anythin' other than play guitar for you. You did this for yourself. Watty wants us to write somethin' together. He said he would cut the record for us and get it sent 'round to all the labels for us. He also said not to worry 'bout the cost he would take care of it." Deacon hugged her back.

"When do you wanna get to work?" Rayna could barely contain her excitement.

"If you're free we could get started now. I know a great little place to go write." Deacon replied.

"Yeah, I'm free. I can make up an excuse and be late gettin' home." Rayna stared up into his eyes.

"Did you wanna ride with me or follow me?" Deacon asked her.

Rayna looked around at all of her classmates. "Uh, maybe we can just wait a minute until everyone else clears out."

Deacon could sense her hesitation. "What? You ashamed to be seen with me or somethin?"

"No that's not it at all. It's just my daddy has a lot of ears and eyes in this town. If I don't want him to find out about this I have to be careful. You have no idea how many of these fake bimbos will go runnin' off at their mouths about the sexy bad boy Rayna Wyatt was with and then their daddies will tell my daddy. He'll get my sister involved and it'll be this whole big thing." Rayna explained to him.

"You think I'm sexy?" Deacon bit his lip.

Rayna blushed having just realized what she said.

"Rayna, what are you doing with the pool boy?" Peggy Kentor just had to stop and stick her nose in where it didn't belong.

"I'm not just a pool boy. I had to change a tire for her. I'm a full service kind of guy." Deacon looked down at his feet out of habit.

"I had a problem with it on the way to school and I thought I would get it taken care of." Rayna played along.

"Ms. Wyatt, if you want you can follow me back to the shop and I can get a better tire put on there for you." Deacon slipped into the role of menial public servant easily. He did it every day anyway.

"That'd be great." Rayna agreed with him. "Excuse me, Peggy, I have to get a move on."

"I'll lead the way then." Deacon got into his truck.

Rayna got behind the wheel of her car and followed him to the park.

Deacon got out of his truck and grabbed his guitar case out of the back of his truck.

Rayna got out of her car and walked over to where Deacon stood. "So, I'm really sorry 'bout that back there."

"You ain't gotta be sorry I'm used to it. I was the pool boy for a little while and a handy man and a mechanic. I'm also a bartender, a waiter, a bus boy, and a contractor." Deacon rattled off.

"You're really a jack of all trades aren't you?" Rayna smiled at him.

"I am. I do a little bit of everythin' that I can just to get by. I even unload stuff off boats down on the river." Deacon laughed a little.

"Where's this place where you wanna write?" Rayna asked him.

"Follow me." Deacon offered her his hand.

Rayna took his hand and let him lead her. "You haven't steered me wrong so far."

"Give me a little time. I'm sure it'll happen." Deacon's eyes crinkled up around the edges with laughter. He led her to wall with some stairs built into it. He perched himself on the edge of the wall.

"This is really beautiful." Rayna sat down next to him.

"It's peaceful too. I really like it out here. It helps me get some quiet time to think 'bout things." Deacon opened up his guitar case and took his guitar out. "There's a pen and paper in there you can write the lyrics down as we go. You gotta contribute somethin' other than your voice."

"You think you're real funny don't, ya?" Rayna grabbed the pen and pad of paper.

"Oh, I know I'm funny." Deacon bumped his shoulder against hers playfully.

"Only in your dreams." Rayna leaned back against him.

"Alright now, enough playin' 'round it's time to get serious." Deacon got them back on track.

* * *

"Mom, how did you not run the other way? He just showed up at your school that's a little stalker like." Maddie gave her mother a look.

"Oh stop, it was not. It was very sweet and romantic. It only sounds stalker like because you grew up in a time where that kind of thing is common. The eighties were a more innocent time. He was hot, he had a good sense of humor, and he was a little bit of a bad boy. Everything else could be easily forgiven. You were sixteen once you didn't make the best choices either." Rayna swatted her arm playfully.

"How did he find out where you went to school?" Daphne asked.

"Darlin' girl, I love you so much. You are one of the lights of your momma's life, but I know you didn't have to ask that question. All he had to do was check the school directories. My first name is not at all common." Rayna laughed and shook her head.

"I thought it was a valid question." Rhett made a face.

"Knowin' him the way I know him now it doesn't surprise me at all. He is very resourceful. God I don't even feel bad for sayin' how much I really disliked Peggy. I disliked her anyway, but after the way she just looked at him like he was nothin' I really couldn't take her." Rayna went on.

"Where did he take you to write?" Maddie asked her.

"I ain't tellin' you that. We still go there when we need private time." Rayna laughed.

"That was it? You two were just a couple after that?" Sadie asked.

"Now that part is a little more complicated." Rayna held her fingers inches apart.

* * *

Deacon sat on a park bench by the riverfront directly in front of Nissan Stadium. The sun shone brightly and the air was cool.

"It's 'bout damn time you got your sorry ass here, Deac." A tall black headed man wearing a cowboy hat, a wool lined jean jacket, jeans, and cowboy boots sat down on the bench next to him.

Deacon looked over at him out of the side of his eye and then he did a double take. "Vinny, what the hell? Am I dead?"

"Don't be a dumb ass, Deac." Vince took a beer out of the case and cracked it open.

"What are you doin' here?" Deacon questioned. The last thing he remembered was the doctor putting him under for his surgery.

"I'm just here to keep you company." Vince offered Deacon a beer.

"I can't take that. Did death make you lose what you had left of your mind? I can't drink. Jesus Christ, Ray would throw me an ass whoopin' for sure if she didn't kill me." Deacon waved off the offer.

"I know that you can't drink that. I just thought I'd offer for old time's sake. Come on take a walk with me." Vince stood up again.

Deacon stood up with him. "Where are we goin'?"

"We are gonna take a little walk down memory lane. I thought it'd help you pass the time." Vince cuffed him lightly on the side of the head.

"Boy, you better watch yourself damn it. I swear you're a pain in the ass." Deacon shook his head at him.

"And that's why you love me so damn much." Vince grinned at him.

"Don't you grin at me like that you fuck head. Your son looks just like you when he grins like that." Deacon observed.

"Well, your daughter looks just like you when she makes some of the faces that she makes. I can't believe you didn't know from the start that she was yours." Vince looked at him like he was crazy.

"Maybe I was purposefully blind. Who would have ever thought your son and my daughter?" Deacon smiled brightly.

"You just didn't want to think that Ray could do that to you. I love her to death don't get me wrong, but from the moment I met her I knew that she was destined to hurt you badly. You two were just from two separate worlds. I happen to think that our kids are great together. That girl is gorgeous, Deac. She's too damn good for him." Vince walked with him until they reached an old apartment building.

"She don't always deserve him either. My little girl is in the wrong a lot more than I'm willin' to admit sometimes. I was bad for Ray and you know it. I can say that now. I just couldn't see it then." Deacon walked into the apartment and climbed the stairs.

"She knew that you were bad for her and she chose to be with you anyway. She knew exactly what she was doin'. I warned her 'bout it when she moved in." Vince replied.

"I don't even have a fuckin' clue what you're talkin' 'bout right now. What are we doin' here?" Deacon didn't have a clue what was going on at the moment.

"Why don't you take a look and see?" Vince pushed the door open.

" _Alright, ya'll, I'm gonna head out and get some more booze. It'll give you time to get to know each other better. Ray, just make yourself comfortable this is your home now. I won't be gone long." Deacon picked up his truck keys and threw his jacket on. He gave them both an excited smile before he headed out the door. He wanted to make sure that his best friend and his girlfriend got along. Especially now that they were all going to be living together._

 _Vince took another beer out of the six-pack that sat in the middle of the coffee table. He opened it and drank half of it before letting out a satisfied belch._

 _Rayna crinkled up her nose and cringed in disgust. "You're a pig when you wanna be, Vince."_

" _Listen up, Princess, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once I ain't repeatin' myself. You're here, now you better be damn sure that he's what you want and you ain't just doin' this to piss your daddy off." Vince said._

" _What the hell are you talking about, Vince?" Rayna looked confused._

" _I'm talkin' 'bout you better make sure that you're here cause you wanna be with Deac and you're not just usin' the broke guitar player to piss your daddy off because he didn't love you enough or he drank too much or he spent too much time at work. Deac may be poorer than Job's turkey, but he is the kindest most earnest man that you will ever meet. He's 'bout to kill himself workin' to take care of you and make you happy. So, you better be here for the right reasons. I want to be sure that you're worthy of all the love and devotion that boy is 'bout to throw your way. He's my very best friend he is more than that he's my brother. I wanna make sure that he ain't bein' used." Vince elaborated._

" _Vince, I love Deacon or I wouldn't be here. Without him and music in my life I wouldn't have anything. He came along and saved me. He brought hope, and love, and light back into my life. He brought back the part of me that's been missin' since I lost my momma. Why would I wanna do anythin' to hurt him?" Rayna countered._

" _I know girls like you, Rayna. I have firsthand experience with girls like you. You take the first poor boy you can find to satisfy some urge to slum it to see how the other half lives and to extort a new Mercedes outta daddy in exchange for dumpin' him on his ass. She gets what she wants and that poor stupid bastard gets a broken heart for his troubles." Vince stared her down._

" _That just shows how little you know me. I'm nothin' like those girls you're talkin' 'bout right now. Those girls look down their noses at me because I like country music and wear cowboy boots. I'm sincerely sorry that you had to deal with girls like that, but I promise you that I'm more like you and Deacon than the country club type." Rayna stared right back at him._

 _Vince gave a derisive snort. "And that shows how much you know 'bout me. I'm from your world, Rayna. The country clubs and the formal dress dinners and all that other borin' shit. As a matter of fact, my daddy does business with your daddy. Grayson Oil and Cattle is my daddy's company. Here is my promise to you. If you're usin' Deac the way, I suspect you are I will cut that part of your gravy train off. All it will take is one call from me to my daddy and he will cut ties with yours. I sincerely hope I'm wrong 'bout you and if I am I will apologize. He's been through a lot in his life and I don't wanna see him hurt by anyone that he loves as fiercely as he loves you."_

" _You ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout. I would never purposefully hurt him. It would kill me to hurt him. That's how much I love him, Vince. I'll be expectin' that apology any time you're ready." Rayna knitted her eyebrows together._

"You defended me to Ray, Vinny?" Deacon asked his friend.

"I did, I was so afraid that she was gonna pull one of those rich girl tricks on ya. You were so stupid in love with her that it would've destroyed ya." Vince gave him a look that dared him to tell him he was wrong.

"She destroyed me alright just not until twenty-four years later." Deacon crossed his arms and leaned up against the doorframe.

"You know I used to not see what you saw in her, but damn she was hot wasn't she?" Vince tried to keep him from going to the dark place.

"She got better with age." Deacon puffed out his chest with pride. "And keep your mouth shut 'bout my girl. I'll kick your ass, Vinny."

Vince laughed and clapped him on the back. "You can try."

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1988

Rayna sat at the desk in her bedroom doing her homework. As much as she wanted to focus on her music all the time she couldn't. She had to keep her grades up to keep her father appeased or she would have absolutely no freedom at all to sneak around with Deacon.

Her head shot up and she looked over to her window that seemed to be the source of the constant tapping she kept hearing. She looked out her window and saw a figure standing underneath her window and she almost screamed until she realized who it was.

She opened up her window. "Deacon, what the hell are you doin' here?" She called out in a harsh whisper.

"I couldn't help myself I just had to see you." Deacon called back to her.

"My daddy will kill you if he finds out you're here." Rayna tried to talk some sense into him.

"That's a risk I'm willin' to take. Move back from the window." Deacon told her.

"Ok, I won't even ask." Rayna stepped back from the window.

Deacon took off at a run and jumped up and grabbed the edge of the window sill. He pulled himself up and went head first into her room. "Well, that didn't go the way I planned it." He got to his feet.

Rayna giggled softly. "You're crazy. I can't believe you just did that."

"You're right I am crazy, crazy 'bout you." Deacon hooked his fingers in the belt loops of her jeans and pulled her to him. He gave her a lingering kiss.

Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes. "Hi," She grinned at him.

"Hi," Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I missed you so much." Rayna rubbed her nose against his.

"I missed you too." Deacon brushed his lips against hers again.

"You really shouldn't be here right now." Rayna repeated.

"I was gonna go crazy if I didn't get to see you. You are worth the risk every time." Deacon grinned at her.

"And you are a distraction. I'm tryin' to do my homework. I don't understand it anyway. Knowin' that you're here is only gonna make that worse." Rayna put her hands on his chest.

Deacon went to walk her backwards toward her bed. "I'll show you how distractin' I can be."

"Deacon, take your boots off quietly. If you're gonna stay you're gonna be smart 'bout it." Rayna told him.

Deacon slipped his boots off and tucked them away where they couldn't be seen. "There you go. Now what?"

"Now, you're gonna sit on that bed and try to be as least distracting as possible while I do my geometry homework." Rayna pointed to her bed.

"I can do that." Deacon took a seat.

Rayna sat back down at her desk. "I don't even understand why I have to take this stupid class."

"Well, I ain't quite sure." Deacon clasped his hands together and sat there quietly when she gave him a dirty look.

Rayna kept working on her homework keenly aware of his presence right behind her. Math wasn't her strong suit at all and knowing he was there just watching her made that worse. She threw her pencil down and slammed her book shut. "I give up. There is no way I'm ever gonna use this anyway."

"Rayna, I'd agree with you if it were trig or calculus, but you might be needin' that geometry for somethin'." Deacon dared to speak up.

"How do you figure?" Rayna asked him.

Deacon stood up and took a folded up piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. He unfolded it and sat it down on the desk by her book. It was the dimensions for a deck he was building for a client. "That is geometry."

"What is it?" Rayna looked at it confused.

"That's a deck. I have to draw it out on paper to show the client how big it'll be. If I didn't use geometry I wouldn't be able to do that." Deacon explained to her.

"I don't see how that helps me." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"It helps you because I know how to do it." Deacon placed a kiss on her cheek. "Open your book again. I'll show you how it's done."

"What's in it for you?" Rayna asked him.

"If you pass your classes it keeps your daddy happy and I can still spend time with you. Plus, for every question you get right I get to do this." Deacon put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her deeply.

"Now how am I supposed to concentrate if you're gonna do that?" Rayna pulled away from him.

"I think you'll figure it out. Let's get to work." Deacon opened her math book for her.

They worked together and got her homework finished. Just as Rayna was closing the book there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Deacon, that's my daddy get in the closet." Rayna whispered harshly.

"Rayna, open up." Lamar said from the other side of the door.

"Just a second, daddy." Rayna called back.

Deacon ran into the closet and shut the door.

Rayna opened the door. "Hey, daddy,"

"What took you so long to answer the door?" Lamar asked. As usual he was dressed in a suit and tie.

"I was doing homework, daddy. I would kinda like to get back to it, so I'm not up all night. Did you need somethin'?" Rayna blocked the doorway so he couldn't really see into her room.

"I just wanted to let you know that I got called away on business and I probably won't be back until the day after tomorrow. Will you be alright by yourself? Do I need to call your sister to come stay with you?" Lamar explained to her.

"No, daddy, I will be fine on my own. Tandy has her own life and stuff to do she doesn't need to worry about me and neither do you. I can take care of myself. It's perfectly safe here I'm not scared." Rayna assured him.

"If you need anything you know to call your sister. I will see you when I get home. Behave yourself, young lady." Lamar replied.

Rayna stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Bye, daddy, have a good trip."

"Bye, Rayna." Lamar waved at her before he left.

Rayna leaned up against her door and breathed out a huge sigh of relief. "You can come out now."

Deacon crawled out of the closet. "Thank God, I didn't know how much longer I was gonna be able to stay in there. You have so many damn clothes that I don't know how you fit them all."

"Come here, you." Rayna offered him her hand.

Deacon pulled himself up off the floor. "I thought that I wasn't gonna be able to get up there for a minute."

Rayna put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him. "Thank you for doin' that for me. I know that it wasn't comfortable. You really are wonderful."

"I'd do anythin' for you. I just basically did your math homework for you. Which reminds me you owe me." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist and fell down backwards on the bed with her on top of him.

"Deacon!" Rayna giggled.

"What?" Deacon kissed her to keep her from talking anymore.

"Wait," Rayna pulled away from him and put her hands on his chest.

"What's wrong, baby?" Deacon pushed her hair behind her ear.

Rayna looked down at him worriedly. "I've never," She said her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" Deacon had no clue what she was talking about.

"I've never and I'm sure you have. I mean I see the way that girls look at you. I've heard the talk." Rayna explained to him without using words that really meant anything.

"Baby, I have no clue what you're talkin' 'bout right now." Deacon laughed a little.

"I've never had sex and I know you heard what my daddy said 'bout bein' out of town. I'm sure that you expect us to. I don't know that I'm ready for that yet. And I mean I would understand if you didn't want to see me anymore or don't wanna wait around for me to be ready. Just let me know now before I get any more attached to you." Rayna bit her lip and looked away from him.

"Look at me, baby." Deacon turned her face towards him. "You set the pace, Ray. You do what you need to do. I will wait as long as you need me to wait. I ain't goin' nowhere. I don't want no one else. You are it for me. I will not make you do anythin' that you don't wanna do."

"You really mean that?" Rayna smiled at him.

"I really mean that, Ray. It ain't gonna kill me to wait." Deacon nodded his head.

"So, that's what you're callin' me now?" Rayna rested her forehead against his.

"Yeah, unless you don't like it." Deacon rubbed her back.

"No, I like it. You can call me that whenever you want to. Now, I think that I have a debt to pay." Rayna gave him a slow lingering kiss.

"I've seen your old room at pawpaw's house. I'm trying to figure out how dad climbed in that window." Daphne looked confused.

"There's a two-foot-high concrete slab under that window. He would use the corner of it to spring board off of after taking a running start. All he had to do was catch the window ledge and he would pull himself up. He did it without ever making a damn sound. The most noise he made was when he would fall on the bedroom floor." Rayna explained.

"Now I know why you would never tell me these things when I was younger." Maddie looked amused.

"Damn right I wasn't telling you that. You were bad enough as a teenager without you hearing about the things I had done. I will admit that I was so much worse than you were. I didn't need to give you any ideas though." Rayna replied.

"She was worse than you and Daphne combined. Don't let her try to play it off. Sneaking into bars to play shows, cutting demos behind daddy's back, sneaking her dirty guitar player into her bedroom." Tandy listed off.

"Thank you for that one, Tandy. Deacon only chewed her ass out about sneaking into bars to play. And I never asked him to come over he came of his own accord every night. I'd damn sure tell him when not to come through. He snuck in one night while Tandy was there and my God did I about have a heart attack knowing they were both there at the same time. I could have killed him." Rayna shook her head thinking about it.

"You did to tell them about the first time daddy met Deacon." Tandy gave her a look.

"Jimmy, give the flask you keep in your coat pocket. I'm gonna need a little liquid courage for this one." Rayna held her hand out.

"I won't even ask how you knew I had this." JC handed it to her.

Rayna unscrewed the cap and took a drink before she started talking again.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We are getting more of a glimpse into Rayna and Deacon's past together. I thought that it would be fun to have Vince show up for a little while. Until next time please review.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 23

Nashville, Tennessee 1988

Rayna and Tandy sat in a café that was close to Vanderbilt. The sisters tried to get together at least once a week or so to talk.

"Just to let you know daddy thinks that you have a boyfriend you're trying to keep secret." Tandy informed her sister.

Rayna who had been taking a drink choked a little. "What? Why would he think that?"

"In all honesty he doesn't think that I do. He said that you've been going out more lately and that you've been having hushed phone conversations in your room. I told him that it was probably a boy and that you weren't comfortable talking to him about it." Tandy gave her a meaningful look.

"Oh," Rayna looked down at her hands.

"So, who is this young man of yours?" Tandy asked her.

"Tandy, I don't know what you're talking about." Rayna tried to deny that she had a boyfriend.

Tandy reached over and put her hand on top of her baby sister's. "Babe, it's ok. You're sixteen it is normal for you to have a boyfriend. You can tell me about him."

"Ok, I have a boyfriend. I haven't said anything about him because I know daddy isn't gonna like him. He's older and he doesn't have money. He is really sweet though. He's not like the boys my age. He doesn't pressure me for anything and he's really understanding. He treats me so well." Rayna tried to make Deacon's case for him.

"I'll tell you what. I think it would help put daddy and me at ease if we could meet him. Let's all do dinner together tomorrow night at the club. You just worry about getting him there and I will make sure that daddy behaves." Tandy bargained with her.

"Ok, I'll see what Deacon has going on tomorrow night. He's a really hard worker. He has a bunch of different jobs and he may be working." Rayna replied.

"I'll make a reservation. It'll be ok. I'll make this alright for you." Tandy smiled at her.

"Thanks, Tandy. I don't know what I would do without you." Rayna smiled back at her sister.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"I feel ridiculous, Ray. I don't think this is such a good idea. I don't know what I was thinkin'. I'm gonna go in there and he's gonna hate me." Deacon said from the driver's side of Rayna's car. He was dressed up in a really nice suit and tie she'd bought for him. That had really made him feel like crap. He didn't even have enough money to buy himself some decent clothes to meet his girlfriend's father.

"You look fine, Deacon. Stop worrying so much. He's gonna like you as much as I do. Daddy can just be kina hard to get through to sometimes. My sister is here and she will make sure that he is on his best behavior. Come on let's just go inside and get this over with." Rayna's tone was pleading.

Deacon took her hand and kissed it. "You're more than worth anythin' that I have to go through for you."

"Thanks, babe." Rayna smiled softly.

Deacon got out of the car and opened her door for her. "Let's do this."

"Everything is gonna be ok." Rayna took his hand and walked into the country club with him.

They were greeted by a white jacketed member of the staff. "Ms. Wyatt, it's good to see you again." He nodded his head in Deacon's direction.

Deacon nodded back.

"It's good to see you too, Freddie. I'm supposed to be meeting daddy and Tandy here." Rayna smiled at him politely.

"They are in the main dining room. I will take you to them, Ms. Wyatt." Freddie replied.

"Freddie, I know the way and I'm sure you have better things to do." Rayna waved off his offer.

"Whatever you want, Ms. Wyatt." Freddie smiled gratefully.

"Come on, Deacon." Rayna led him to the dining room.

"I'm comin'," Deacon replied.

"There are my father and sister. Just remember to breathe you can do this. Everyone always likes you." Rayna whispered words of encouragement to him.

Lamar stood up and buttoned his suit jacket when he saw them approach. "Rayna, there you are. I was starting to worry about you."

"Daddy, I'm only ten minutes late. There was traffic, I apologize." Rayna kissed his cheek. "Daddy, Tandy, this is Deacon Claybourne. Deacon, this is my father Lamar Wyatt, and this is my sister Tandy." She introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you, Deacon." Tandy said politely.

"It's nice to meet you too, Tandy." Deacon smiled sincerely.

"You must be the boy that's been keeping my little girl so busy." Lamar offered him his hand.

"Yes, sir, that's me. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Deacon looked him in the eyes and shook his hand firmly.

"Sit down and join us." Lamar said.

Deacon pulled out Rayna's chair for her.

"Thank you," Rayna smiled at him reassuringly.

"You're welcome." Deacon sat down next to her.

"So, Deacon, what exactly is it that you do for a living?" Lamar asked him.

"Right now I'm the foreman for the work crew renovating city hall." Deacon answered him. That was just one of the many different jobs he held.

"Any plans of going to college?" Lamar questioned.

"Truthfully, I haven't given it much thought, sir." Deacon didn't shrink back from the older man's gaze.

"What does your father do?" Lamar wanted to find out as much as he could about this young man.

"Daddy, stop interrogating him. You'll scare him off." Rayna pleaded with her father.

Tandy stepped in before her father and sister could get into it. "Where are you from, Deacon?"

"I'm from Natchez, Mississippi. I've been in Nashville about a year." Deacon took a sip from his water glass.

Tandy took note of the oil stains around his fingers. "So, you're what eighteen? Nineteen?"

"I'm nineteen. I feel sixty some days when I get off work, but I'm still young." Deacon tried to lighten the mood.

"That's how old I am." Tandy made conversation with him.

"He's actually older than you by a couple months I think." Rayna didn't help her case any by saying that.

Tandy gave Rayna a look. "You had to get me some way didn't you?" She said in a teasing tone.

"You like to boss me around I had to find someone that could defend me." Rayna replied.

"You ladies watch yourselves." Lamar warned them.

"Deacon, do you have any siblings?" Tandy asked him.

"I have a sister she's twenty or twenty-one I believe. She's still in Natchez tryin' to save up money to get here with me." Deacon laced his fingers together.

"Rayna, do you realize how lucky you are to have that internship at Wyatt Industries every year and a job waiting for you when you graduate college now? You don't have to try to decide what you want to do." Lamar addressed his daughter.

"Daddy, you and Rayna can't work together. You will kill each other." Tandy once again stepped between them.

"Thank you, Tandy. The only reason we don't come to blows over the summer is because I'm in the mail room." Rayna sighed.

"I've worked in a mail room before too." Deacon just tried to make conversation.

"You really are a jack of all trades aren't you?" Lamar commented.

"I can do a little of this and a little of that. I mostly either do contractin' work, wait tables, or work as a mechanic." Deacon informed him. He didn't add that was a great guitarist. Rayna had told him not to even mention music.

"Do you share my daughter's obsession with music?" Lamar asked.

"I play a little guitar, but that's 'bout it." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Babe, why don't you come freshen up with me before we order? It'll give daddy and Deacon a chance to talk." Tandy made the suggestion, but it was more an order.

"Of course." Rayna grabbed her purse.

Deacon and Lamar both stood as they left the table.

"Deacon, you seem like a reasonably smart man. What's your price?" Lamar asked once they had gone.

"Excuse me, sir." Deacon looked at him questioningly.

"What's your price to stop seeing my daughter? I'll give you whatever you want within reason. She has a very bright future and I don't want to see anyone or anything drag her down." Lamar clarified.

"All due respect, sir, but I can't be paid off. I'll go away when Rayna wants me to go away and not before then. I respect her too much to just take a payoff and then leave her like she don't matter to me." Deacon retorted.

Lamar nodded his head at that. "I guess I can respect that position."

"I think it's safe to say that daddy hates him." Rayna commented to her sister.

"He doesn't hate him, Babe. He's behaving reasonably well." Tandy replied.

"Oh yeah, that's what that crack about me working for Wyatt Industries was about. He knows that I'm not going to work there. If I have anything to say about it I'm going to be a musician." Rayna looked at her sister.

"That was just daddy being daddy you know that. I think he just has some concerns and frankly so do I." Tandy told her.

"God, not you too, Tandy. You're supposed to be on my side." Rayna sighed.

"I am on your side. I just think he's too old for you." Tandy explained.

"He's good to me that's all that should matter to you. He's a good guy, Tandy. His age shouldn't matter." Rayna fought back tears.

"I don't mean too old for you. I guess I mean too mature. Not that I'm saying you're immature, he's just really old for his age. He just has this wary look in his eyes that reminds me of a wounded animal. Someone has hurt him badly. I don't want to see you get hurt because of that." Tandy put her hand on her shoulder.

"He would never hurt me, Tandy. He's so gentle and tender with me." Rayna argued.

"Well, I can give him a chance." Tandy relented.

"Thank you," Rayna replied stiffly.

* * *

"When you say Aunt Tandy never liked dad you really aren't kidding are you?" Maddie asked her mother.

"No, I'm not kidding at all. He was so uncomfortable that night. But he's Deacon and he did what he does. He didn't complain because it was for me." Rayna replied.

"Mom, the power you have over him is sick sometimes." Daphne laughed.

"Trust me, your daddy really doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do even if it's for me. He balks sometimes." Rayna told them.

"Why didn't you just make things easy on yourself and stop seein' him?" JC asked her.

"Because I don't do things the easy way. And we were already so tangled up in each other that there was no way I could have walked away from him no matter what anyone said. Even when I tried to I didn't really walk away from him I kept him in my band. You better believe that daddy and I had it out when I found out that he tried to buy him off to stop seeing me." Rayna shook her head. This really was helping her not to worry so much about Deacon.

"He did exactly what I told him not to do. I knew that would only make matters worse." Tandy added.

"That's why I never forbid the girls from seeing anyone. I knew exactly what would happen. I also knew that I would probably have to get Deacon outta jail. Whereas daddy tries to buy people off. Deacon is more the beat the living shit out of someone type. I hate to see what he's like with Charlie. That poor thing doesn't have a prayer for a hope." Rayna went on.

* * *

"Vinny, do you mind telling me what the hell we're doin'?" Deacon looked over at his friend. They were still in their old apartment.

"You need to learn some patience. We are 'bout to see when me and Ray finally made friends." Vince replied.

"This oughta be good." Deacon just rolled his eyes.

 _Vince was sitting on the couch drinking a beer with a cigar clamped between his teeth._

 _Rayna let herself in the front door using her key. She had her backpack thrown over her shoulder._

" _Well, welcome home, Princess." Vince raised his beer in salute._

" _Shut up, Vince. I'm so damn sick of you callin' me that. I see that you were as productive as usual today. I was hoping that Deacon would be here when I got home. I should have known better." Rayna put her purse on the counter and dropped her backpack on the floor._

" _Not my fault you are a damn Princess. Deac called he is workin' late. Either the project he was workin' on ran over or he got called in to do some mechanic work. I don't really remember which. I just know he told me to tell ya he'd be home as soon as he could." Vince drained his beer and sat the empty on the coffee table with the other ones he'd already drank._

" _You're a fuckin' slob. Pick up after yourself I'm not your damn maid. I get sick of having to come home every day and clean because you're too lazy to do it. You're the one who sits on your ass and drinks all day because you can't keep a job at least you could clean. But no I have to come home and clean for a damn hour before I can do my homework. You contribute absolutely nothin' around here." Rayna finally went off on him._

" _Neither do you aside from cleanin' every once in a while. Your Aunt Dottie contributes to the welfare 'round here. She brings groceries and pays the rent when we can't." Vince opened another beer._

" _Drunk, lazy, and stupid. That's a real great way for you to go through life, Vince. If you wanted to do that you could have stayed with your rich parents. If you wanna be a musician get off your ass and help us do somethin' about it. I'm going to the bedroom to do my damn homework." Rayna picked her bag up and stormed into her and Deacon's room._

 _Vince was still sitting on the couch an hour later when Rayna came back into the room muttering something._

 _Rayna slammed her book down on the counter. She would just leave it for Deacon he could make sense of things that she didn't understand most of the time._

" _What's the problem, Princess?" Vince asked her._

" _Not that you would probably understand, but I have chemistry homework that I don't even understand." Rayna replied._

" _You're in luck then. That just so happened to be one of my best subjects in school." Vince said._

" _You finished school?" Rayna arched her eyebrow._

" _Yes, I finished school. I'm not as useless as you think I am. Bring your book here. There's no way in hell Deac is gonna know what to do. And by the way your math teacher needs to be shot. It took me and him both to figure that shit out last night." Vince informed her._

" _You help Deacon do my homework?" Rayna had no clue that he did that for her._

" _Yeah, I do all the time. If Deac doesn't know what to do he brings it to me." Vince answered. "Now, bring the book over here." He moved all his beer bottles out of the way._

 _Rayna sat down next to him with her book. "I didn't realize you helped him."_

" _It's not a big deal. I help where I can." Vince shrugged his shoulders and looked at her homework. "This is easy enough. I'll write down the answers for you and you can copy them down."_

" _Thanks, Vince." Rayna smiled at him a little._

" _You're welcome." Vince smiled back. Fifteen minutes later he looked up from the book. "And you're done."_

" _You did that pretty fast." Rayna observed._

" _I told you that I'm good at chemistry." Vince shrugged._

" _You learn somethin' new every day." Rayna laughed._

 _Vince retrieved a deck of cards. "I'm 'bout to teach you somethin' else." He grabbed them both a beer. "Here, if you're gonna play cards with me you're gonna need that."_

" _Thank you," Rayna opened her beer and drank from it._

" _First game is five card stud. I'll teach you as we go. If you have any questions just ask." Vince opened the cards and shuffled them._

" _Teach away," Rayna was game for anything. It was better than just sitting around until Deacon got home._

 _Deacon came home around seven and he just stood in the doorway a moment watching his friend and his girlfriend. They both had lit cigars in their mouth and were in the middle of a poker game._

" _Show me your cards, Ray. There ain't no way you're gonna beat my full house." Vince slurred._

" _Wanna bet?" Rayna laid her cards down. "Four twos, your shot." She poured him a shot of whiskey._

" _This is just damn beginners luck is what it is. Either that or you're cheatin'." Vince threw down his shot._

" _I ain't cheatin'. You're just not as good at this as you think you are." Rayna retorted._

 _Vince poured them both a shot. "Come on, Ray, time for another shot. You're slackin' on me, Princess."_

 _Rayna picked up the glass. "Who we drinkin' to this time?"_

" _To your daddy the best thing the stupid son of a bitch did was throw you out. His loss was our gain." Vince touched glasses with her and threw back his shot._

" _Ugh, I think it's startin' to go down easier." Rayna grimaced._

" _What the fuck did I just walk in on? I just did a house call in Belle Meade for an old muscle car and you two are sittin' in here partyin' up." Deacon walked to the fridge and got himself a beer._

" _Uh oh, Vince, I think we're in trouble. Let's do another shot." Rayna poured them both one more._

" _That's my girl." Vince picked up his shot._

" _To Deacon who gets out every day and works his ass off so we don't have to." Rayna tossed her shot back._

" _Oh good lord, you're both hammered." Deacon laughed._

" _Yes we are. We have been playin' shot poker. Since we are both broke." Vince informed him._

" _Did she at least do her homework?" Deacon arched his eyebrow._

" _She can hear you and yes she did." Rayna smiled up at him drunkenly._

 _Deacon leaned down and kissed her. "Girl, you are a hundred proof right now."_

" _I lost a few hands and every three hands it's time for a shot." Rayna informed him._

" _Did you do your homework before you started drinkin'?" Deacon sat down and put his arm around her shoulders._

" _Of course we did. Does it look like I can do chemistry drunk?" Vince asked him like he was crazy._

" _Between the three of us we will get you graduated." Deacon winked at her._

"We made one hell of a team together didn't we?" Vince asked him.

"We sure did. I think with all she did for us there at the end I forgot that we did a lot for her at the beginnin'." Deacon commented.

"All three of us were good to each other and we were good for each other. You two were the best friends that I've ever had. You were my family." Vince replied.

"You were the brother I never had and Ray really loved you too. Even when she didn't act like it." Deacon told him.

"I know that. She was a little sister to me. I watched out for her when you couldn't and I kept her out of trouble by draggin' her into trouble with me." Vince laughed.

"Oh, I'm well aware, Vinny." Deacon just shook his head.

* * *

"Sadie, why are you lookin' at me like that?" Rayna asked her friend.

"You gotta know what I'm lookin' at you like this for. Everyone else went downstairs to get somethin' to eat. I wanna hear the good part while we're alone." Sadie made her eyebrows dance.

"You wanna hear 'bout the first time don't you?" Rayna laughed.

"Oh, I do." Sadie nodded her head.

"It took us awhile longer to get there than you probably think given what you now 'bout us now. He told me I could set the pace and he stuck to that. It's just we were makin' out real hot and heavy one day and his hard on brushed against my thigh and oh good lord I thought I was gonna pass out. I could just feel how big he was. I didn't know how I was gonna handle that. My momma was gone and I couldn't talk to my sister 'bout anythin' Deacon related. I freaked out. I had no clue what to do in that situation. If Rhett has anythin' in common with his brother you know exactly what I'm talkin' 'bout." Rayna rambled a little.

"I have absolutely nothin' to complain about with Rhett. I'll just leave it at that." Sadie gave her a knowing look.

"You know what I'm talkin' 'bout. We had done other stuff don't get me wrong, but it took a minute for us to pull that trigger." Rayna laughed again.

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1988

"Oh my God, babe. How do you do that to me every time?" Rayna lay back on her bed panting.

Deacon smiled up at her from between her legs. "I can't go givin' you all my secrets. If you can make yourself feel that way you won't need me."

"I'm flexible, but I ain't that flexible. I'll have to keep you 'round." Rayna smiled back at him.

"It is such a relief to hear you say that." Deacon crawled up and laid down next to her.

Rayna turned around and kissed him. "Thank you, babe."

"I gotta go. If I wanna keep my promise that you set the pace I gotta get outta here." Deacon mumbled against her lips.

"Babe, do you want me to make you feel good?" Rayna asked him. She was still new at that, but she could give it her best shot.

"You ain't gotta do that. You gagged the last time you tried. I'll just go home and take a cold shower." Deacon chuckled.

Rayna didn't reply verbally at first. She unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants. She lowered his zipper slowly and pushed her hand down the front of his boxers. She grasped his member with her long delicate fingers. "Shut up. It's not like they teach how to give head in sex ed." She kissed his neck while she stroked him.

Deacon sucked in a sharp breath. "Jesus, baby, that feels good." He was about to die from relief. This letting her set the tone thing was about to kill him. She had no idea what she did to him.

"I know I've been a horrible tease and you have been a very patient man. I really appreciate it." Rayna kissed behind his ear and along his jawline.

"Anythin' for you, Ray." Deacon got out around a moan.

"You are rock solid right now babe." Rayna buried her face in his neck.

"I know and it ain't gonna take much more of that just givin' you fair warnin'." Deacon told her.

"Was that what you needed?" Rayna asked him after he'd come.

"That ensured that I will live to see another day without dyin' of blue balls anyway." Deacon pushed her hair back from her face and kissed her.

Rayna put her hand on his chest. "So, baby, I've been thinkin'. I'm ready. Tomorrow is Friday and daddy is out of town all weekend. It would be perfect timin'."

"You sure? You're not just sayin' that cause you think I'll leave if you don't? It is ok if you're still not ready. I told you I will wait forever and I meant it. You ain't gotta do anythin' just cause that's what everyone else is doin' or cause you think you have to. I want this to be special for you. I don't want to rush into it we have time." Deacon put his hand on top of hers.

"I'm not sayin' that because I think I have to or because I think you'll leave if I keep givin' you a terminal case of blue balls. I'm sayin' it cause this I what I want. The only thing I need to make this special is you." Rayna took his hand and kissed it.

"In that case it's a date. I really need to go now though. I picked up a night shift bartendin'. I gotta make some money to get better gear. I can't have you havin' a raggedy guitar player." Deacon kissed her.

"You better go then. I can't be seen in public with you if you're gonna look like a bum." Rayna laughed at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow night. You don't worry 'bout anythin', but bein' your fine little self. I will take care of everythin' else." Deacon kissed her one more time before he redressed and climbed out the window.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Rayna's hand shook slightly as she opened the front door. This was the first time that Deacon had used the front door. She didn't know why she was nervous. It was only Deacon and he thought she was perfect in every way. "Hey, babe, come on in."

"I don't know what it's like usin' the front door. It feels weird. Maybe I oughta go 'round back and climb in the window." Deacon laughed.

"Don't you dare. I like you comin' in front door like you belong here." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I do belong here as long as your daddy doesn't know 'bout it." Deacon put his arms around her waist and let his hands rest in the small of her back.

"So, it's early and we have some time to kill." Rayna searched his face for what he was feeling.

"Right to the point, huh?" Deacon grinned.

"I don't see why we have to let the suspense build any longer than we already have." Rayna retorted.

"I think we better take this to your room then." Deacon easily scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs.

Rayna threw back her head and laughed. "Deacon, I know how to walk."

"I know you know how to walk, but humor me." Deacon sat her down on her feet in her bedroom. "Now, let me get a good look at ya." He smiled widely.

"What? Do I not look ok?" Rayna looked down self-consciously.

"You look perfect, darlin'. I'm more interested in gettin' you outta them clothes anyway." Deacon grinned.

"You are so bad." Rayna laughed at him.

"I really am." Deacon started to unbutton her shirt. He kissed her softly and then he kissed her neck. He pushed her shirt off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He undid her bra and kissed down her chest. He dropped to his knees to remove her jeans.

"Get up here it's my turn now." Rayna pulled him to his feet.

"I ain't gonna argue with that." Deacon winked at her.

Rayna kissed him and unbuttoned his shirt. "I didn't think you would." She kissed all down his chest and abs and she started to undo his pants. "Now we match."

"Yes we do, come here, you." Deacon walked her over to her bed and laid her down. He took her panties off and cast them aside. He pushed his boxers down and threw them into the floor too.

"Damn, baby, you look good." Rayna ran her hands up and down his chest.

"Baby, are you sure you wanna do this?" Deacon stared into her eyes. He was giving her one last chance to back out.

"I'm positive, babe." Rayna kissed him deeply. "Um, do you have protection?"

"I told you that I'd take care of everythin', baby." Deacon reached for his pants and grabbed a condom out of his pocket. He used his teeth to tear open the wrapper. He rolled the condom down over his shaft and settled himself in between her legs.

"Just go slow, babe." Rayna whispered lowly.

"I promise, babe." Deacon kissed her deeply as he slid into her for the first time. He went all the way in on one thrust to avoid hurting her more.

Rayna let out a shuddering moan and buried her face in his neck. "You said you'd go slow."

"It woulda hurt worse if I hadn't, babe. I'll be still until you're ready." Deacon kissed the top of her head. Being inside of her felt even better than he thought it would.

"Baby, I can't stand it anymore, you gotta move." Rayna panted. She had never felt anything so good before in her life. It just felt right.

"That I can do." Deacon started to slowly rock his hips to let her get used to him. He rubbed his nose against hers and captured her lips.

Rayna held on to him for dear life moaning against his neck breathily. Once she got used to him she started to rock her hips against his.

"My God, baby, you feel so damn good." Deacon whispered in her ear. He made sure to touch every part of her. He wanted her to feel wanted and not like he was just using her for sex.

"So do you, babe." Rayna dug her nails into his back.

Deacon reached between their joined bodies and rubbed her clit with the pad of his thumb.

Rayna only moaned louder and moved her hips faster in response.

Just like always Deacon let her set the pace and he followed her lead. Soon they had worked up a steady rhythm It wasn't long before they had both tipped over the edge. In Rayna's case it had happened twice

"Was that everythin' that you wanted it to be?" Deacon held her in his arms so that they were facing each other.

"That was better than I imagined it." Rayna admitted.

Deacon brushed his lips against hers lightly. "I love you, Ray." He hadn't said it to her before because he hadn't wanted her to think he was just saying it to get into her panties.

"I love you too, Deacon." Rayna kissed him passionately.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I can keep going with these flashbacks for awhile. You guys just let me know how many more you want. Until next time please review.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 24

"I would say from the looks on you ladies' faces right now that you're up here bein' dirty." Rhett came back into the waiting room.

"I was just telling things about your brother that you probably rather not hear." Rayna clasped her hands together.

"Your brother is a sweetheart I don't know where you came from." Sadie teased him.

"That tells me that you two were talkin' 'bout sex and I don't wanna know." Rhett sat down and crossed his legs at his ankles.

Rayna checked the time on her phone and she started pacing. She hadn't gotten an update on Deacon in a while. "Ok, I need to keep talkin' or my mind is gonna go to the place that I don't want it to go. He wouldn't want me to be this worried and stressed out."

"You said that Lamar forbid you from seein' Deacon. That obviously didn't stop you. Is that why he kicked you out?" Rhett asked her.

"No, that's not why he threw me out at all. He found out that I had been making music against his wishes. He told me that I could either give it up or get out. I think we all know which option I chose. Luckily I had my Aunt Dottie. I kinda split my time between her place and Deacon's place. If Deacon pissed me off I'd go stay with Aunt Dottie. And Aunt Dottie knew that I was selling her a line if I told her I was staying all night with friends. She hadn't heard from me in a few days, so she came looking for me. Let's just say that was interesting." Rayna made a face.

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1988

Deacon opened the door of his apartment to a dark headed middle aged woman. "Uh, can I help you, ma'am?" He'd never seen this woman before in his life.

"You can tell me where I can find my niece." Dottie Wyatt told him. She put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

"You must be Aunt Dottie. Come on in. Ray is at school, but she should be home any minute." Deacon opened the door wider to allow her entry.

Dottie gave him a very thorough once over.

Deacon swallowed hard. He was used to the scrutiny, but this was a little unnerving.

"If you're wonderin' what I'm doin'. I'm checkin' for horns or the six-six-six on the back of your head. To hear my brother tell it you're the antichrist. That's not what I see when I look at you." Dottie walked right in and made herself comfortable.

"He doesn't like me very much at all." Deacon agreed with that.

"Lamar, just doesn't have an open mind. That and he happens to think that anyone born in a lower tax bracket than him is a criminal waitin' to be caught." Dottie replied.

"Can I get you anythin'?" Deacon asked to be polite.

"I would kill for one of those beers you've got sittin' 'round. That is if you have any left." Dottie grinned at him ruefully.

"I can make that happen. I apologize for the mess. My roommate is a slob that doesn't know how to clean up after himself." Deacon retrieved her a beer from the fridge and opened it for her.

"That would be Vince, right?" Dottie took a drink.

"That would be Vince. He's an acquired taste on a good day. Him and Ray don't always particularly like each other." Deacon sat down next to her with a beer in his hand.

"It's good for her to be exposed to different people. She will get used to him. I mean she does go to public school, but Lamar still made sure that she didn't step out of her lane." Dottie replied.

Deacon looked confused. "Why are you bein' nice to me? I'm the guy your teenage niece is livin' with. Your other niece and your brother can't stand me. Truthfully I don't know if I'd like me much either."

"I don't think Tandy and Lamar gave you a fair chance. Rayna has repeatedly told me what a hard worker you are and how good you are to her. I can clearly see that you love her. Why would I wanna stand in the way of that?" Dottie gave him a look.

"Because she's only sixteen and I'm the guy helpin' her do the very thing that her daddy don't want her doin'." Deacon pointed out.

"Like I said my brother doesn't have a very open mind. He also doesn't understand her. The only person that truly ever understood was her momma. When she lost Virginia she lost more than her momma. She lost someone to talk to and to be understood by. Then you walked into her life. I've seen the way she changed since she met you. She's been happier than I've seen her in years. So, I don't care if this is only a case of puppy love on her part that will fizzle out after a while. I don't care that you ain't got a dime to your name or that you're older than her. The only thing I care about is seein' her happy." Dottie told him.

"That's all I want to make her happy. She is the first person to ever really believe in me." Deacon replied.

"She may be the first but she won't be the last. There's hope for you yet." Dottie smiled at him.

"Hey, babe, I'm sorry I'm late. I know that you need the truck for work." Rayna walked in the front door without bothering to look around.

"It's ok that job got canceled and I'm due in the studio in a couple hours. Watty got me a gig doin' a little guitar work. I shouldn't be out late." Deacon replied.

"So, you'll get dinner on your way home then?" Rayna asked him.

"Yes I will. I always do. And if not I make sure you have money to get somethin'." Deacon pointed out to her.

Dottie gestured for him not to say anything about her presence she wanted to see how long it took Rayna to notice.

Rayna put her backpack up on the counter. "So, I'm thinkin' that we can talk later. I have an idea and you can just think 'bout it before we talk. I think I may drop outta school and get a job to help out."

"You know how I feel 'bout that already. I ain't provin' everyone right by lettin' you mess up your life." Deacon put his foot down.

"Rayna Alisia Wyatt, have you seriously not noticed that I'm here? And I agree with your boyfriend you aren't droppin' out." Dottie spoke up.

"Aunt Dottie, what are you doin' here? How did you even know where Deacon lives?" Rayna asked in surprise.

"I'm lookin' for my niece I haven't seen her in a few days. And your sister told me where he lives. You should know that your father ran a background check on him. Lamar leaves nothin' to chance." Dottie retorted.

"As you can see I'm fine. Deacon takes really good care of me." Rayna assured her.

"I can see that and I can also see how much he cares about you. So, if you promise to check in every day and to call me if you need somethin' and you can't get it I won't drag you back to my place. Tryin' to keep you two apart ain't gonna do anyone any good." Dottie bargained with her.

"I can do that." Rayna agreed.

"If he's gotta work you're gonna come with me this afternoon. We need to get you a car. He needs his truck." Dottie announced.

"Aunt Dottie, you don't have to do that." Rayna was a little leery to accept the help.

"Nonsense, I do have to. You need a car to get around in. He needs his truck for work. We will go pick out a car for you and then I'll take you both out to dinner." Dottie wouldn't hear any arguments on the matter.

"Alright, I won't try to argue with you about it." Rayna gave in. "Babe, you better leave a note for Vince. You know how lost he is if there isn't someone here to tell him what to do."

"I'll leave him a note. Ready for the shock of your life? He actually worked today. I don't know how long this job will last for him, but I'm not gonna question it." Deacon replied.

"What's he doin' this time?" Rayna asked.

"This time he's pourin' concrete for porches. That's somethin' he actually knows how to do, so he may last. That is until he decides he rather get drunk than go to work. That's why I won't get him jobs anymore." Deacon laughed a little.

"I'll tell you what. Pick him up on your way to meet us. I'll take him to dinner too. I wanna get to know the other man my niece is livin' with." Dottie finished her beer.

"Aunt Dottie, you have no idea what you just set yourself up for, but I'll let you find that out for yourself." Rayna laughed.

* * *

"Ya'll better believe that I heard a mouthful from Aunt Dottie 'bout not tellin' Deacon 'bout Maddie." Rayna shook her head.

"I'm not sure if you've been informed of this or not, but she has told anyone who will listen that Deacon is her boyfriend." Rhett chuckled.

"That sounds right to me. I didn't realize you've seen Aunt Dottie outside of my presence before." Rayna replied.

"We refer to her as the dragon lady 'round the clubhouse. She comes in all the time to give Lamar hell. She told me that I was almost as good lookin' as my brother. She also said things to me that I rather not repeat. Your daddy told me to just take her with a grain of salt. That the only reason he can't get rid of her is she's his baby sister." Rhett told her.

"You know how Deacon and Bev handle each other better in small doses sometimes? Well, daddy and Aunt Dottie can't handle each other at all. They go round and round. She won't take his shit and they fight." Rayna laughed.

* * *

"Vince, would you tell me where the hell we're goin'?" Deacon asked as they walked.

"You've done forgotten your roots, Deac. You should know damn well where we're headed." Vince shook his head.

"You think I got a little bit of money and I sold out? Is that what you're sayin'?" Deacon didn't like the tone in his voice.

"No that's not what I think. That ain't what I think at all. It sounds to me that's what you think 'bout yourself though." Vince turned around and gave him a look.

"I ain't no damn sell out, Grayson. I don't think that 'bout myself." Deacon argued with him.

"Whatever you say, Deac. Whatever you say." Vince shrugged his shoulders.

Deacon looked around to get his bearings. "Why are we headed to the Bluebird?"

"You'll see." Vince walked the rest of the way with him in silence. He opened the door to the Bluebird.

"If it's at all possible you're a bigger pain in the ass now than you ever were when you were alive." Deacon grumbled.

Vince patted him on the back. "Cheer up, I ain't all that bad."

"You ain't all that good either." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"Just stop runnin' your mouth and watch this." Vince retorted.

 _Deacon and Vince had just finished up a set when Rayna walked in an excited smile on her face._

" _Hey, Ray," Vince grinned at her._

" _Hi, Vince," Rayna kissed his cheek._

" _Babe, where have you been?" Deacon asked. He was more concerned than angry._

" _I'm sorry, baby, I was hopin' I would be able to make your set. I do have some good news though." Rayna gave him a quick kiss._

" _What kinda good news?" Deacon asked._

" _Remember that new manager that Watty got me set up with?" Rayna asked him._

" _Yeah, that Bucky guy." Deacon nodded his head._

" _He got me a sit down with a label. And they offered me a contract." Rayna told him._

" _Seriously? Babe, that's great. That is so amazin'. I'm proud of you." Deacon hugged her tight._

" _They are a startup label, but they are the real deal. They are already talkin' 'bout an album and a real tour. This isn't like that last label that I tried this with." Rayna explained._

" _That's great. That last label was no damn good for you." Vince shared a look with her._

" _There's a catch though. They want me as a solo artist." Rayna bit her lip nervously._

" _You are very, very, talented and I could understand how they would have an easier time marketin' you alone. You're young and hot and they can sell that. They can't sell young and hot with a creepy lookin' older boyfriend." Deacon put her at ease._

" _You are not creepy at all. Thank you for bein' understandin'. You are the most wonderful boyfriend in the world." Rayna kissed him again._

" _I know I am and it's cause I love you." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist._

" _Ray, you're awesome, you're great we all know that. But you're gonna need a band." Vince pointed out to her._

" _Drummer," Rayna pointed at Vince. "Bandleader," She pointed at Deacon. "I trust you two to get the rest of the band together. I can't do this without either one of you."_

" _Hayes on fiddle, Max on bass, I think we should still have a few backup singers we can go to that Vince hasn't screwed." Deacon thought out loud._

" _You mean there are backup singers in the city of Nashville that Vince hasn't screwed and then never called again? My goodness, I didn't know that there were any left." Rayna said in mock shock._

" _We all can't be perfect almost married people like you and Deac. Cut me some slack. I'm more like the embarrassin' uncle of the group that you only put up with because he's family." Vince defended himself._

" _You know what this means don't ya?" Deacon got a huge grin on his face._

' _What does this mean, babe?" Rayna asked like she didn't know damn well what it meant._

" _This means that we have to celebrate tonight." Deacon answered._

" _I will round up the usual gang. Deac, you take care of the booze." Vince delegated._

" _I got the booze and the food cause as usual I'm the only one with a job." Deacon rolled his eyes._

" _When are you gonna figure out that's how this relationship works? We know that you're the one who pays the bills. It's Ray's job to sing and look pretty. It's my job to be community relations." Vince pointed out._

" _If you're our community relations we are in sad shape. You're fine until you get drunk. At which point you need someone to monitor your mouth." Rayna gave him a withering look._

" _You win some you lose some. Deac, get your bride I'll get the gear. We got a party to get ready for." Vince clapped his hands._

" _Come on, Ray. I gotta get down to the liquor store before Vince has a stroke." Deacon picked Rayna up and threw her over his shoulder._

 _Rayna laughed loudly and pushed her hair out of her face. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a really nice ass?"_

" _I think I've heard that a time or two." Deacon carried her outside and sat her on her feet._

" _How's he gonna get your gear home if he doesn't have a car here?" Rayna asked._

" _You make a very good point. I'll get our gear. It looks like I'm gonna be springin' for a keg tonight." Deacon replied._

" _If he doesn't get enough people to come over it's not like we have to worry about it goin' to waste. You two could drink that in a day. I've only had to use my boobs to get you two beer from the liquor store by the apartment numerous times cause the clerk has a thing for me and doesn't card me." Rayna shook her head._

" _We have to use those boobs to our advantage, babe. I mean they get us out of sticky situations sometimes." Deacon winked at her._

" _It's nice to know that you've just been pimping me out all these years and usin' me for my boobs." Rayna smacked him in the center of the chest._

" _I'm callin' spousal abuse on you, girl." Deacon grabbed her hand._

" _Good luck with that one we ain't even married. We might as well be though. You get on my nerves like I'm married to ya." Rayna glared at him._

 _Deacon picked her up around her waist and spun her around. "I love you and I'm so damn proud of you. I know that it's gonna work out this time."_

 _Rayna laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you too. I'm just sorry that they didn't want you too. I love makin' music with you. I wouldn't be here without you."_

" _You ain't gonna be without me now. Like I told you the first night we met if you get nervous just look over at the side of the stage and I'll be there. All you ever have to do is look to your left I'm there and I always will be." Deacon kissed her._

" _You are just 'bout the most perfect boyfriend ever. I don't know what I'd do without ya, babe." Rayna rubbed her nose against his._

" _You'll never have to find out, babe." Deacon leaned his forehead against hers._

* * *

"My brother really had all those different jobs? For some reason I find it hard to see him as a mechanic." Rhett commented.

"It shouldn't be that hard. Paul is a mechanic by trade." Scarlett threw out there.

"Paul was a mechanic when he could hold down a job. That didn't happen very often." June corrected her.

"Deacon would work his ass off. There's no question about it. He did whatever he had to do to make sure that I was taken care of. But he could go through jobs. Oh boy did he go through jobs." Rayna sighed.

"And I of course heard about it whenever he lost a job." Tandy added.

"I never really got mad at him when he lost his jobs. Most of the time if I lost it, it was because of us trying to get our music career off the ground. There were a couple of times I was furious though. The two bit jobs I didn't care 'bout. He had a couple of really great jobs though. I got pissed when he lost those." Rayna took a drink of her coffee.

"He's got fired two or three times that I know of since I've known him." Gunnar spoke up.

"He has the tendency to piss people off and get fired it's what he does." Rayna nodded her head.

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1989

Rayna was on the couch doing her homework. This new couch was a vast improvement over their last couch. They had picked this one up from the curb in Brentwood. The only thing wrong with it had been the missing leg, but Deacon had fixed that.

Deacon walked in the front door and slammed it behind him. He stalked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He twisted the cap off, threw it across the room, and drained it in one gulp.

Rayna looked over at the clock. "Babe, what are you doin' home? It's kinda early?"

"Yep, that it is." Deacon grabbed another beer.

"Deacon, you're downin' beers like it's beer thirty. You wanna tell me what's goin' on or you gonna make me guess?" Rayna asked him.

"I lost my job today. It's no big deal I'll find another one. I always do." Deacon reassured her.

"Which job did you lose?" Rayna lost track of which jobs he worked when he had so many.

"Does it even matter? I've lost so damn many of 'em I can't even keep track anymore." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, Deacon, it matters. Which damn job did you lose? I hope to hell it wasn't one of your good jobs. We can get by when you lost those little side jobs, but when you lose your good jobs then we have to worry." Rayna stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"It was the good job." Deacon admitted and then he squeezed his eyes shut. He knew that she was gonna be pissed.

"How the hell did you lose your good job? What the fuck did you do this time?" Rayna demanded.

"One of my guys was drunk and up in my face and I knocked the livin' hell outta him." Deacon answered.

"Damn it, Deacon!" Rayna pushed him. "Why for once can't you just keep your hot headed temper under control? You know how damn much that job meant to us. You could have kept it together for a change. You didn't have to do what you do best and use your damn fists."

"Hey, you need to relax I will find somethin' else. I always do. Are you worried that I won't be able to give you your weekly walkin' 'round money? You'll get that even if I gotta go without. I already know that you gave up a lot to live here with me. I wouldn't further wanna cramp your style by takin' money outta your pocket." Deacon yelled back at her.

"Don't you dare even go there. I don't need your damn money. If I wanted money I would just go ask Aunt Dottie. This is about keepin' a roof over our heads and food on the table. We can't live on beer and whiskey forever. You need to get your shit together and be a damn adult. That is the only thing I need from you." Rayna put her finger in his face.

"I'm sorry ain't all of us from Belle Meade born with a fuckin' silver spoon in our mouths. Some of us grew up poor and we know from experience how to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. I can have another fuckin' job by this time tomorrow. That's how resourceful I am." Deacon's face turned red from anger.

"I can't fuckin' believe that you just went there. If that's how you're gonna be then I don't wanna be around you tonight. I'll be in the bedroom. You can sit out here and drink yourself into a stupor. I will say this one last thing and though. You need to get over this damn chip you have on your shoulder from not having money. Your work ethic more than makes up for that, but you're too damn prideful to see that." Rayna stalked away from them and went into their bedroom. The door locked behind her with a click.

Deacon was passed out face down on the couch the next morning. Rayna hadn't come out of the bedroom all night and she'd refused to let him in. He sat up with a groan when someone shook him awake. "What the fuck?"

"I don't give a damn how fuckin' hung over you are right now or how late you and Vince were up last night. I need you to get your ass up and drive me to school. My damn car won't start." Rayna stood over him with her backpack thrown over her shoulder.

Deacon sat up and slipped his feet into his boots. "Alright, let's get outta here." He grabbed his keys off the counter.

"You know the only reason I'm mad at you is because I don't wanna be wrong about you." Rayna said once they were in the truck.

"You ain't wrong 'bout me, babe. This is just a little hiccup. I will find another job right away. I'm gonna look as soon as I drop you off at school." Deacon promised her.

"I know that, I really do, but sometimes my daddy and my sister get into my head and that doesn't exactly help me think clearly." Rayna replied.

"You don't have to ever think the worst of me, babe. I only wanna be my best for you." Deacon pulled into the parking lot of her school.

"I'm sorry that I was such a bitch last night. I don't mean to be." Rayna apologized.

"It's ok, babe. We are all entitled to our off days." Deacon took her hand and kissed it.

"I really need to get going. I don't wanna be late again. I will see you after school." Rayna gave him a smile.

"I'll see you after school. I'll take a look at your car. If I can get it fixed I'll bring it here and leave the keys for you in the main office." Deacon told her.

"Ok, if you don't have time don't worry about it." Rayna replied.

"Come here," Deacon kissed her. "Have a good day at school. I love you."

"I'll try my best. I'll love you too." Rayna pecked his lips and got out of the truck.

* * *

"As if I wasn't pissed off enough at him over losing that job come to find out he took the distributor cap off my car so it wouldn't start. Apparently around two in the morning the genius decided it would be a good idea to listen to Vince when he told him if my car didn't work I would have to talk to him if he had to give me a ride to school." Rayna explained to the group.

"And you didn't leave him for that?" Maddie asked her.

"No it was manipulative in a sweet way. He meant well with it. And he was listening to Vince. I don't know what else you expect. Those two were an absolute handful together. I don't know how I put up with them. The only good thing about it is I feel like it prepared me for having sons." Rayna chuckled.

"They certainly prepared you well then." Tandy snorted.

Just then Mike walked in with his surgical cap in his hand.

Rayna stood up. "Mike, how is he?"

"Rayna, we have to talk." Mike replied.

"Uh ok, of course." Rayna really didn't like the look on his face.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I thought it was time to get a progress report on Deacon and move things along there. Until next time please review.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 25

"First and foremost you need to know that Deacon is ok. He came through the surgery with flying colors. I want to explain to you what I did." Mike put all of her fears at ease.

"Mike, you scared the shit out of me. You had me thinkin' that somethin' went wrong." Rayna breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I went ahead and did the bypass surgery on him. He tolerated it really well. I was able to do it and keep his heart beatin' while I bypassed the artery and that is better for recovery time and it's safer. This repair should last him the rest of his life." Mike reported.

"That's doctor talk and I don't understand a word of it other than he's gonna be ok." Rayna looked confused.

"Rayna, he's gonna be better than ok. He will make a full recovery." Mike broke out into a smile.

Rayna hugged him. "Thank you, Mike. Somehow that doesn't seem like enough."

"Don't worry about it. It was my pleasure. Do you wanna see him?" Mike hugged her back.

"Yeah, I would love to see him." Rayna wiped a tear away.

"Well, let me take you to him then." Mike gestured for her to follow him. "Here he is fresh out of recovery."

Deacon was sitting up in the recliner with wires and tubes coming out of him.

"He looks so good. He's got all his color back. He isn't blue around the lips anymore. It doesn't look like he's struggling to breathe." Rayna gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She'd half expected for him to look swollen and pale.

"That's because he's getting oxygen now. You'd be amazed what a difference good circulation makes. His hands are even warm now. Go on in and see him. Talk to him. He should be waking up any second." Mike explained to her.

"Alright, I'll go see him. Thanks again, Mike." Rayna smiled brightly.

"You're welcome. I'll be back to check on him soon." Mike patted her back.

Rayna walked into the room and sat down next to Deacon. She took his hand in hers. "Hi, my love, I told you that you were gonna be ok. You just don't listen at all. Mike said that you did really well. And I don't think you're gonna have a big scar, so that's good."

Deacon groaned and his eyelids started to flutter open. After struggling for a moment he focused on his wife with glassy eyes. "Ray, you're here." A huge grin made its way across his face.

"Hey, babe, there are those pretty blue eyes." Rayna smiled at him.

"Come give me some sugar." Deacon puckered his lips.

Rayna kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too. I really think this Edgehill thing is gonna be good for us." Deacon was talking out of his head.

"My lord, baby, you are stoned. They must have given you the really great stuff." Rayna laughed. "Mike," She called out for the doctor. "Hey, Michael,".

Mike came into the room. "What can I do for you?"

"Did you give my husband narcotics?" Rayna asked him.

"I just had to cut his breast bone in two of course I gave him narcotics. He wouldn't be able to stand the pain otherwise." Mike answered.

"He has substance abuse problems. And I just wanna know exactly what you gave him." Rayna ran her hand through her hair.

"I know and I took that into account. From what I understand he's an alcoholic and not a drug addict. If it makes you feel better though I will not give him Oxycodone or OxyContin and I will proscribe enough pills so that you can taper him off of them." Mike replied.

"That would be great. I know that he doesn't have a drug problem, but I worry 'bout him all the same. I've been to hell and back with this man. I'd go to hell and back again, but I really rather not have to if it can be avoided." Rayna told him.

"I completely understand." Mike squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, Deacon, how are you feeling?"

"Tired and sore as hell. What the fuck did you do to me, Mike?" Deacon slurred out.

"I fixed you. If you haven't noticed you're breathing on your own again." Mike pointed out to him.

"You're just as damn annoyin' as Vince is. I can't be havin' you both on my case at the same time. He won't shut up and then I got you lookin' all smug." Deacon groaned.

"Vince? You've been talkin' to Vince?" Rayna questioned him.

"Who is Vince?" Mike asked.

"His dead best friend. The fact that he thinks he's been talking to him worries me a little bit." Rayna bit her lip.

"Don't worry about that at all. The anesthetic makes people think all kinda loopy things." Mike reassured her.

"Vinny is a damn pain in the ass that's who the hell he is. He's talkin' all kinda stupid shit to me right now. He's very hard to ignore." Deacon said mostly to himself.

"Rayna, he's stoned don't pay any attention to him. He'll be alright as soon as some of it wears off." Mike laughed at him.

"Can I bring the girls back to see him yet or not?" Rayna asked.

"Bring them on back. Let him rest if he's tired, but I think it would be best for him to have some company right now." Mike replied.

"Ok, great, I will let them know. Thanks again." Rayna nodded her head.

"Stop thanking me. I was just doing my job." Mike chuckled.

* * *

"Hold on, I'm coming." Teddy rushed to answer his front door. "Hey, Maddie, this is a nice surprise. I'm glad that you came by. I've been needing to talk to you. Come in, I have something that I want you to take a look at."

"I don't have much time I just wanted to swing by and talk to you." Maddie walked in.

"Well, I have a couple different sample invitations here for you to look at and see which one you like better." Teddy held up two different invitations for her to look at.

"Teddy, I really can't even process that right now. Dad has been in the hospital since Saturday and he just out of open heart surgery probably a half hour ago. That stuff isn't even on my radar right now. I'm just thankful that he's ok." Maddie replied.

"Daphne mentioned something like that to me. I'm glad that he's gonna be ok." Teddy said somewhat awkwardly.

"He was really sick. For a minute there I didn't think he was gonna make it to see next week. He hung in there though and he kicked ass like he always does. The thing of it is him being sick made me realize a few things. Like how little time I've truly had with him as my dad. And how many things that we have missed out on together. Father-daughter dances and skinned knees and first days of school. You know we had all of that taken from us. And we just almost lost everything else that we have ahead of us." Maddie rambled a little bit.

"I'm sorry, Maddie, but I don't understand what that has to do with why you're here." Teddy was confused.

Maddie took a deep breath and then let it out. "I'm here to say the thing to you that I should have said to begin with. Teddy, I can't let you walk me down the aisle it's not your place. Dad's gonna do that it's his job. I just didn't know how to tell you that. You put me on the spot. I've hurt him enough for one lifetime and I would never be able to live with myself if I took this from him."

"How is it not my place?" Teddy's face fell.

"Because everything else that should have been his you took. And you didn't just take it from him you took it from me too. He's made his mistakes and I'm not gonna pretend like he hasn't, but he's still my daddy. It's his blood that I have flowing through me. He's where I get half of who I am. He helps me understand the crazy in my head and he knows how to help me make sense of it. I can't imagine looking over on my wedding day and not seeing him by my side. I'm sorry if this hurts you, but that's the way it's gonna be. If you don't like it you don't have to be there at all. That's what I came here to tell you and now I have to go." Maddie turned on her heel and walked out before he could reply to that.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Daddy, you no longer look like death warmed over. You got all your color back. Oh my God, I think they fixed you up better than before." Maddie stared at Deacon slack jawed.

"Hey, baby girl, there's my princess. I've been wonderin' when you were gonna come see me." Deacon's face absolutely lit up when he saw his oldest child.

"I had something that I had to do before I could come see you. And I had to go pick something up for you." Maddie replied.

"Oh, sweetheart, you didn't have to get me anythin'. The only thing that I really want is your company anyway." Deacon winked both his eyes at her.

"Still I brought you something that I know you wanted, but wouldn't ask for." Maddie dug around in her purse and pulled out a silk pouch.

"What are you talkin' 'bout, Maddie?" Deacon squinted.

Maddie took the cross that June had given him out of the pouch. "I'm gonna give this to mom to hold on to, but I wanted you to know that you're the one who is gonna walk me down the aisle."

"I knew that you'd come to your senses and you wouldn't break your daddy's heart that way." Deacon grinned goofily.

"Maddie, your daddy is stoned right now, but he will appreciate this later. I can't tell you how much this means to me though. I think you made the right choice." Rayna beamed at her.

"I think it took me too long to make the right choice and I'm sorry for that." Maddie kissed Deacon's cheek. "You look good, handsome."

"Doesn't he? He doesn't need the oxygen or the albuterol to help him breathe anymore. He is doin' so good. I'm so proud of him." Rayna couldn't help herself she had to kiss on Deacon's cheek.

"Ya'll act like I did somethin' special. I just made it through surgery that's all I did. You would think I solved world hunger or somethin'." Deacon grumbled.

"He's really cranky." Daphne observed.

"This is Deacon when he's sick or hurt. He turns into a complete and total jackass." Rayna informed her.

"I'm thirsty damn it." Deacon toyed with the clip on his finger that was monitoring his blood pressure.

Rayna grabbed his cup for him and bent the straw to make it easier for him to get a drink. "Don't play with that you need it. Here get a drink."

Deacon took a sip of his water and some of it dribbled down his chin.

Rayna grabbed a napkin and wiped him off. "There you go. I thought I was over this stage when Jack learned how to handle a real cup. That's ok though, I don't mind cleaning you up at all, cutie. I'm just glad that you're here and you're better." She kissed his dimple when he half smiled.

"We are all glad that you're here and you're better, daddy." Daphne told him.

"My girls, I love my girls so much. Ya'll are so pretty." Deacon mumbled. His pain medication was starting to take effect again.

"And you are so handsome, but for right now close your eyes and get some rest. Your four little babies are gonna wanna see you soon. Your wife needs to go get something to eat and she can't do that unless she knows that you're all settled in." Rayna kissed the top of his head.

"Mom, go get something to eat. I will sit with him for a little while." Maddie volunteered.

"Don't make him talk just let him sleep. Daph, get on outta here. You've been here all day. I appreciate it, your daddy appreciates it, but go home and get some sleep. He's not gonna be lucid for a while." Rayna tried to reason with her.

"You sure? I can stay." Daphne asked.

"I'm sure you can come back later around dinner time and see him. Hopefully he'll be a little more like himself then." Rayna rolled her eyes at his behavior.

"Alright then, I will get going." Daphne agreed.

"I'll walk you out. Maddie, make sure that he doesn't pull on any of those tubes and wires. If you don't watch him he'll have it all disconnected." Rayna warned her.

"I've got an eye on him. He will be fine, mom. He knows how to behave without you right here to watch him." Maddie assured her.

"Ok, ok, ya'll stop givin' your momma a hard time. You know how much I love him and how worried I've been about him." Rayna kissed Deacon's head one last time.

"Daph, get her out of here. He needs some breathing room." Maddie laughed.

"Bye, daddy, I love you, feel better." Daphne pecked his cheek. "Come on, mom." She guided her mother out of the room.

"Hey, let me grab my purse at least." Rayna protested.

"Mom, this is for your own good. I have money that you can have." Daphne kept her moving.

Deacon cracked his eye open. "I thought she'd never leave. She's been fussin' over me since I woke up."

"She was really worried about you. I know better than anyone that she can come on strong though." Maddie replied.

Deacon held his hand out to her. "Hold daddy's hand, baby girl."

Maddie reached over and took his hand. "I love you and I know that I you may not remember this conversation later, but I'm really sorry I didn't pick you right away."

"It's ok I knew that you just needed a minute to think 'bout makin' the right choice. I always had faith in you." Deacon squeezed her hand.

"How do you do that? How do you have blind faith in me when I've let you down over and over again?" Maddie was amazed at her father's ability to believe in her.

"You're my baby girl. I have to have blind faith in you. I trust you to always make the right choice in the end." Deacon smiled at her.

A nurse walked in at that moment. "Well, look at you breathing well and having all your color back. You're even more lucid than you were earlier. I have a couple things to go over with you if you feel up to it." She told him.

"Sure, hit me." Deacon replied.

"I have this teddy bear for you. You're gonna need to cough to keep your lungs clear and you're gonna cough anyway from your pneumonia. When you do that's gonna really hurt since you got your breast bone cut in half. So when you have to cough you're gonna hug this bear to your chest and that's gonna help it not hurt so much." She explained to him.

"I can do that." Deacon sat the bear in the chair next to him.

"You need to use this breathe once every hour. This is gonna keep your lungs clear." She sat it down on his bedside table.

"We will make sure he does it." Maddie replied.

* * *

Rayna blew on a soup spoon to cool it down. "Here you go, open up. One more bite."

Deacon opened his mouth and accepted the food. "No more, that tastes like crap."

Rayna wiped the food off his chin. "One more. Just one more. You need to get your strength back."

"No more, Ray. It tastes like shit. I want some good food." Deacon didn't feel like eating anyway and he certainly didn't want food that tasted like ass.

"I won't force you to eat this. Here, you have some ice cream. How 'bout you try that?" Rayna knew to pick her battles at the moment.

"I don't want any damn ice cream." Deacon shook his head.

"Tell me what you do want then. If they don't have it here I'll have someone bring you whatever you want. Just eat somethin' for me, babe. You ate five bites of the soup and that ain't gonna cut it." Rayna tried to get him interested in eating.

"I ain't hungry, Ray. I don't want anythin'." Deacon turned his nose up.

"Well, I'd ask how he's feeling, but from that response I can tell that he's gonna be fine." Tandy walked in to check on her sister. She was worried that Rayna was going to over extend herself.

"He's sore and crabby." Rayna informed her.

"He's right here and can talk for himself." Deacon glared up at her.

"His mood aside he looks really great. He hasn't looked that good in a while. He's been sick for longer than we realized." Tandy leaned down to kiss Deacon's cheek. "You don't get to scare us like that ever again. For a minute there I was afraid that I wasn't gonna have you to argue with over your expense account anymore. You look great."

"Thanks, Tandy. And thank you for bein' here for your sister." Deacon smiled a little.

"Always, you know that I will always be here for my sister and my nieces and nephews." Tandy said like he should have thought of that.

"I can't believe you're bein' so nice to me right now. I remember when you used to hate my guts." Deacon replied.

"I still hate your guts. I just tolerate you to be with my sister and those kids." Tandy couldn't help herself.

"You haven't tried to get her to divorce me or keep any kids from me in a while I'll take that as progress." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"If you're gonna be cranky you're gonna need to press your button for more pain meds. You're in pain, babe, don't be a hero." Rayna told him.

"In other words she wants you to take more pain meds so you'll pass out." Tandy added.

"Oh no, he won't pass out and shut up. He gets stoned and starts talking out of his head. You're gonna love this part he's been talking to Vince." Rayna clued her in.

"No part of that sentence was ok. Not ok at all. I remember what a pain in the ass Vince was. I remember how bad they were together." Tandy nodded her head.

"Hey, Tandy, can you do me a favor? You're the only one I can trust with this." Rayna asked hopefully.

"I'll do whatever you need." Tandy replied.

"I need some clean clothes and underwear. I can't have those girls digging around my underwear drawer for reasons that I'm sure you don't even wanna know." Rayna explained to her quickly.

"You can't have in your underwear drawer what I think you have in there. You sleep with all four of your kids when he's out of town." Tandy raised an eyebrow.

"You're such a pervert. I don't keep that in my underwear drawer. What you're thinkin' of is in my nightstand. It's my lingerie that I rather they didn't see." Rayna corrected her.

"What the hell are you two talkin' 'bout?" Deacon was confused and totally out of the loop.

"Nothin', babe, absolutely nothin'." Rayna laughed.

"You don't want your husband to know that you have a vibrator?" Tandy asked her.

"My God, Tandy, you aren't supposed to say the thing that I didn't want you to say." Rayna blushed.

"What the hell do you have vibrator for? You don't need one when you have me." Deacon frowned.

"Honey, I love you and you know that I do, but sometimes I want things without havin' to deal with you." Rayna replied.

"Great that's just great." Deacon mumbled.

"Do you see what you started?" Rayna asked her sister.

"Don't blame this on me. You didn't have to say what you said to him. It's true and I know that as well as anyone. You just voiced it out loud." Tandy covered her mouth to hide a smirk.

"How the hell is a man supposed to get better with his wife tellin' him that she rather get herself to the finish line than deal with him?" Deacon pouted.

"Baby, that don't happen often. You go out of town sometimes and that's why I have it more than any other reason. You know how damn much I like bein' alone with you." Rayna kissed his forehead to temper the blow she had just dealt him.

* * *

"Ok, guys, before we go in and see daddy I want to prepare you. He's a little out of it, but he will be able to talk to you. There are wires and tubes, but he is so much better than he was before. He's really sore, so you have to be gentle with him." Rayna told her kids before she would take them in to see Deacon.

"Ok, momma." Deac acted as the group spokesman as usual.

"Let's go in and see him then. He's very excited to see you guys." Rayna ushered them into the room. "Deacon, looks who's here to see you."

"There are my babies. Hi, I'm so happy to see you." Deacon smiled at them. He was in a pretty good deal of pain, but he was holding off on his pain medication until he'd visited with his children for a little while.

"Daddy, you're all better." Charlie smiled at him.

"You didn't die." Jayme exclaimed.

"Hi, daddy." Jack waved at him.

Deac hung back a little bit.

"Deac, do you have something you want to say to daddy?" Rayna prompted him.

"I'm glad you're better, daddy." Deac mumbled.

"Everybody come give daddy some sugar." Deacon encouraged them to come over to him.

With the exception of Deac they all trooped over and kissed his cheek.

"Deac, what is wrong with you, son?" Rayna asked him. This wasn't like him at all. He was a daddy's boy.

"Nothin'," Deac looked down at the floor.

"It sure seems like somethin'." Rayna crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's nothin'." Deac maintained.

"Ray, I ain't gonna force him. If he doesn't wanna kiss me he ain't gotta." Deacon spoke up.

"That's the problem he doesn't wanna kiss you. That's not like him at all. He worships the ground that you walk on." Rayna argued with him.

"It's fine." Deacon assured her.

"Why do you have a bear, daddy?" Jack asked him.

"Dr. Mike had to hurt daddy to fix him. So now if he has to cough he has to hug this bear so it doesn't hurt." Deacon explained to him.

"Look at this. It's almost the whole Claybourne posse." Mike walked into the room to check on Deacon.

"What do ya'll say to Dr. Mike?" Rayna asked them.

"Thank you for fixin' daddy." The answered in chorus.

"All of you are welcome. I figured that you needed him along for a while longer." Mike winked at them.

"What are you doin' back in here so soon?" Rayna asked him.

"I didn't give you the full run down on him earlier. He's still on the high dose antibiotics to clear up the pneumonia. And he's not on a restricted diet because when we did the cath on him his arteries looked really good. They are pretty clean for a man of any age. I have patients younger than him with worse blockages." Mike reported.

"That's good to know. Now if only I could get him to eat somethin'." Rayna sighed.

"If he doesn't wanna eat don't try to force him to eat. He'll be hungry soon enough. You don't have to worry about him." Mike reassured her.

"Ok, I'll just keep an eye on him then. Thanks for being so great with him." Rayna smiled.

"He's one of my favorite patients. He's not much trouble at all." Mike replied.

"He's a cranky asshole, but thank you for lying." Rayna laughed. She looked at Deacon with the kids standing around him and she smiled. She was so thankful to have him better.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Deacon is finally out of surgery and on the road to recovery. Maddie has come to her senses at least. Now it appears that Deac is having a little bit of an issue. Until next time please review.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. Shameless self plug time. If you guys enjoy these Nashville fics check out my new Friday Night Lights fic.

* * *

Chapter 26

"So, what do you wanna do tonight since your insomnia is actin' up?" Rayna felt for Deacon. He couldn't get comfortable in the recliner, he couldn't lay in the bed, and he couldn't get up and walk around.

"I'm sorry, Ray. I didn't mean to wake you or keep you up. I'm in a lot of pain. I'll just get some more pain meds and I should pass out." Deacon waved off her concern.

"I'm here for you, babe. If you don't sleep I don't sleep." Rayna wasn't about to let him go through this alone. He was the one in pain, but she could at least keep him company.

"Babe, if that were true you'd never sleep cause of my insomnia." Deacon corrected her.

"You know what I mean. I'm just talkin' about in this instance." Rayna retorted.

"Babe, just go back to sleep. I will get comfortable eventually." Deacon shifted positions.

"Don't be so damn stubborn, baby. I'm here talk to me. We can talk 'bout anythin' you want." Rayna offered.

"I don't know what to talk 'bout. If I could just get a little comfortable I'd be ok." Deacon grumbled.

"Do you want me to call a nurse in here for you and see if they can move you into a more comfortable position?" Rayna offered.

"I don't want the damn nurse in here buggin' me. They come in here every hour to poke and prod me as it is. I've been stuck more than a seventeen-year-old virgin on prom night." Deacon snapped.

"Ok, that's ok, I'm sorry. I just wanna help you." Rayna didn't take it personally she knew what he was like when he was sick or hurt. In this case he was both and that made it worse.

"Why don't ya just talk to me? That would make me feel better." Deacon could tell that he had hurt her feelings a little bit.

"The girls asked me to tell them about the night we met they really seemed to enjoy it. Both your older daughters think you're a stalker by the way." Rayna laughed softly.

"What did you tell 'em babe?" Deacon asked her.

"I may have told them that you just showed up at my school unannounced or that you kissed me after knowin' me for all of two hours." Rayna grinned a little.

"I had to kiss ya. I knew that I'd regret it every day for the rest of my life if I didn't. By the way that wasn't stalkin' Watty told me where you went to school. I don't think I ever told you that." Deacon replied.

"I can't believe I never thought about that as an option." Now that she thought about it that made the most sense.

"What else did you tell them about?" Deacon asked.

"I told them about Vince and about us living together. I told them about a lot of stuff." Rayna looked over at him.

"Did you tell 'em 'bout Lamar kickin' you out?" Deacon inquired.

"I glossed over that part and straight into movin' in with you. I know that they are grown women and it sounds irrational on my part, but he's their pawpaw and they love their pawpaw. I don't want them to think badly of him." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"That's what makes you such a good momma. You wanna keep our babies safe from the ugly parts of our past." Deacon held his hand out to her.

Rayna slipped her hand into his. "I do, because they love him. And he wasn't always a good father, but he is a good grandfather." She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. "Your hands are so warm again."

"Baby, I didn't mean to scare you like that. I think I scared myself just as badly if it makes you feel any better." Deacon replied.

"Honey, I know that you didn't mean it. You couldn't help any of this. You got sick and at some point your artery got damaged. There's nothing you could have done to stop it. I don't want you beatin' yourself up over it." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"I'll consider it." Deacon winked at her.

"It looks like the effects of the anesthetic are finally starting to wear off that's good. That's what had him so loopy not the narcotics. I thought that I would come in one last time before I left for the night and see how things were going." Mike stepped into the room.

"I figured as much. This is a man who in his prime could drink a fifth and a half of Jack and barely be drunk. I didn't think a few painkillers were gonna make him act like that." Rayna observed.

"Deacon, how are you feeling?" Mike asked him.

"I'm in a lot of pain and I'm restless, but I can't get up and walk around. Every time I move my arms my chest hurts." Deacon reported.

"That's to be expected right now. I cut your breastbone in half. Every time you move those two pieces of bone grate together. That being said you do need to get up and start moving as soon as possible. If you can't sleep and decide that you want a shower or to walk around the floor a little bit page one of the nurses and they will help you." Mike told him.

"I can do that." Deacon nodded his head.

"I was curious and I decided to do a little digging into his medical records to see if I could pinpoint when he injured his artery. I found out when it happened. Something should have been done to fix it then. It was from that car accident that he was in about thirteen or so years ago. For whatever reason they rushed through his assessment and he wasn't treated properly. If he had been someone would have caught this then. I don't understand why they rushed it, but they did. And before he had this episode there's was really no reason to check his heart. He's a healthy man. So over time it just got worse." Mike explained to them.

"As you can see it was my fault." Deacon looked dejectedly down at the floor.

"Don't go there, babe." Rayna sighed.

"Is this one of those times where I'm missing something?" Mike looked confused.

"Fifteen months before the boys were born we were in a car accident. Mike, you have my medical records too you need to check them. And what you can't figure out from that you can google." Rayna didn't really want to get into that whole can of worms especially not with the look that was on Deacon's face.

"I will do that then." Mike arched his eyebrow.

"Mike, see if you can't find out for me why they rushed through his treatment. I'd really appreciate that. They are normally really good here. I've given birth to all my children at this hospital, Deacon had part of his liver removed at this hospital, and they've taken really great care of him this time." Rayna was determined to get to the bottom of that problem.

"I'll find out what I can for you." Mike promised her.

"Thank you," Rayna said gratefully.

"No problem, ya'll have a good night." Mike waved and left the room.

"Ray, this is one of those things that you need to just leave it be. I brought it on myself. Once again my drinkin' has almost killed me. I got what I deserved." Deacon said gloomily.

"No, Deacon, you don't deserve that at all. You didn't deserve this. You damn sure didn't deserve to almost die in front of me. I'm done letting you take the blame for that accident. It was my fault I was the one drivin' I wasn't payin' attention. You saved my life, you're the one who pulled me out of that wreck." Rayna put her foot down.

"We wouldn't have been in that car if not for me. You were right I did what I do best I went and I got drunk when I found out that I was a father." Deacon sighed.

"I was way too hard on you back then. I'll tell you what I count you as having twenty-seven years sober. You're allowed to forgive yourself that one slip. I destroyed you worse than anything you ever did to me. You went back to the one thing that could give you comfort." Rayna let him off the hook.

"Thanks, baby. I think I needed to hear you say that." Deacon smiled a little.

"No problem, Deac." Rayna grinned at him.

"Now, don't you start callin' me that. You'll get me and Bubba confused." Deacon chuckled.

"Let's call a nurse and get you that shower it might make you feel better." Rayna suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Deacon agreed.

* * *

"Mr. Wyatt, your daughter is here to see you." A maid walked into Lamar's study.

"Tell her to make herself at home and I'll be with her in a little bit." Lamar was behind closed doors with Teddy and Coleman.

"She said to tell you that she doesn't care if you're in here talking to Jesus Christ himself she needs to talk to you now." The maid replied.

"She sounds pissed." Coleman commented.

"Just tell her to please give me a minute." Lamar just needed a good stopping off point before he went to talk to her.

"She said that she will come in here." The maid reported.

"Lamar, you must have done something to anger one of your girls. You should know that they have fiery tempers. They are both redheads." Teddy laughed.

"Like I said tell her to give me a minute." Lamar repeated himself.

"She also said you have two minutes or she isn't inclined to be nice." The maid told him.

"Why didn't you tell me that it was Rayna to begin with?" Lamar groaned. Rayna was the only one that dared to stand up to him like that.

"Alright, daddy, time's up." Rayna barged into the room. "We need to have a really serious talk and I'm so glad that Teddy is here this involves him too and it keeps me from havin' to track him down. Hey, Cole, it's good to see you. You're the only man in this room right now that I don't want to kill." She bent down and kissed the top of his head.

"It's good to see you too. How's Deacon?" Coleman replied.

"He's doing much better now. He's gonna make a full recovery." Rayna informed him.

"Rayna, why don't you tell me what this is about?" Lamar rubbed his forehead.

"Which one of you was it, huh? Which one of you felt the need to show your authority? I know that it had to be one of you." Rayna pointed an accusing finger first at Lamar and then at Teddy.

"What are you talking about?" Teddy looked confused.

"The night that Deacon and I had that car accident he wasn't given the proper medical treatment before he was transferred into police custody. As it turns out that was because once his visible wounds were treated someone insisted that he be transferred to the jail without any further treatment. There are only two people who have that kind of pull in this town. So, again I ask which one of you was it?" Rayna glared daggers at them.

"It wasn't me. I didn't get there until after they had finished with Deacon. I was more concerned with you that night." Lamar answered her.

"I still don't know what you're talking about." Teddy shifted in his chair.

"Daddy, call me crazy, but I believe you. You generally admit to your sins when you're playing master of the universe. Teddy, you I don't believe so much." Rayna stared at her ex hard.

"Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt for a change." Lamar sipped his scotch.

"I was desperate. What do you want me to say?" Teddy shrugged his shoulders.

"Really? Teddy? Really!" Rayna yelled at him.

"Yes really, for all I knew he was responsible for putting the mother of my children into a coma. Let's face it the man is a menace to society and the only thing you can count on is that he will always let you down. I wasn't about to let run free and be around Maddie in that condition. I was thinking of our daughter." Teddy replied.

"No you were thinking of yourself and how you didn't want her around him because she might decide that she loved her daddy. Let me tell you something, Teddy. He could have just died because of that decision. They didn't have time to look over all his test results before he was moved from the hospital. Because of that they missed the injury to his pulmonary artery. He almost died because he didn't know. He almost died in front of his son. That wasn't your call to make. He's never done a damn thing to you." Rayna put her hands on her hips.

"He's never done anything to me? That is such a crock of bullshit. You would defend him if you knew for a fact that he killed someone. You only cried yourself to sleep for the first year of our marriage because I wasn't him. You could never let him go no matter what he did. You two got out on the road or on that stage together and it was like I didn't exist. He had my wife and then he was gonna take my daughter too. You may have been married to me, but you damn sure never let him go. He always had you, he's obviously ended up with Maddie, and he took the daughter I did father too." Teddy stood up and stared her down.

"Don't you dare, Teddy. You're the one who talked me into not telling him about Maddie. That is his daughter. It'd been different if he'd refused to step up. Jesus, she is so damn much like him it's undeniable that they are related. He was there to finish raising her. He did the same thing with Daphne. You were the one who asked him to step up. And you were the one who split the minute you got out of prison because you needed a fresh start. Let's face it we both know that you'd still be there if it weren't for daddy. You did exactly what they said you did." Rayna didn't back down from him in fact she moved closer.

"He has no one, but himself to blame for this one. He wouldn't be in this position now if upon learning that he was a father he hadn't gone out and gotten drunk. That's what he does best. He can't be counted on. It's a miracle that he hasn't melted down yet." Teddy retorted.

"You know what? Do not mess with me. I may have grown up in this house, but I can throw down if I have to. Here's what you can do for me. You can stay the hell away from me and you can stay away from my daughter. From Deacon's daughter. As far as I'm concerned you have nothing else to do with Maddie. I'm not gonna keep you away from Daphne she's a grown woman that's up to her. But you're done, Teddy. You had no fuckin' right to do what you did. I just almost lost my husband and I will never forgive you for that." Rayna's voice got louder and louder.

"I think that's up to Maddie and not you. Though she's just made it clear that everything I've ever done for her means jack shit." Teddy moved closer to her.

"Teddy, get the fuck out of my face." Rayna warned him.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" Teddy moved even closer.

"Ok, that's enough. I'm breaking this up. Rayna, let me take you back to the hospital. You're too upset to drive yourself." Coleman stepped in.

"I can drive myself, Cole. I'm just gonna go back to the hospital to be with the only man that has ever loved me for me and not some persona I show the outside world. Teddy, you never really even loved me you were with me because I dazzled you in your own words. And with Luke I was just some damn prize. Deacon is the only man in my life who has ever loved me unconditionally no matter what kind of hell I've put him through. I've done my fair share of messing things up not just him. I'm done letting him always take the blame. I need to get back to him before he misses me." Rayna stormed out before any of them could say anything else to her.

She got in her car and slammed the door. Sometimes she just didn't know what she had been thinking when she agreed to go out with Teddy. The man was vanilla as hell. For him to be so bland it was hard to believe he was involved in some of the shady things he'd been involved in. This time he'd really crossed the line though. She'd never been so mad at him before. At one time she'd even thought that he was a good husband and provider. At one time she had ignored what every one of her instincts had told her and stayed with him. She'd made a promise to him that wasn't really hers to make.

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1999

"Alright, Maddie, you just give your momma one minute here. She's still figuring out how to juggle you and a whole bunch of other things at once." Rayna had the car seat in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Or I could make things easy and get the door for you." Deacon just so happened to be walking into the coffee shop and he saw that she was having a hard time. He opened the door for her before she could object.

"Deacon, what are you doing here?" Rayna put the car seat into the back.

"I just came from a meetin' and I wanted to get a decent cup of coffee." Deacon replied uneasily.

"You look really well. It's good to see you." Rayna smiled at him.

"You always look good. You know that though." Deacon crossed his arms.

"You're still a damn smooth talker. I just had a baby I know that I look like a cow. That was a really great try though." Rayna lifted her sunglasses on top of her head.

"You can't prove that by me." Deacon half smiled.

"Did you maybe wanna meet her?" Rayna couldn't keep herself from making that offer. She owed him that much.

"I'd say no, but we both know that you wouldn't let me get away with that." Deacon shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Kids love you don't be like that. You're better with them than I am as a matter of fact." Rayna sat her coffee on top of the car and took Maddie out of her car seat. "Come here, baby girl, there's someone that I want you to meet." She fussed a little bit in her mother's arms.

"She's gorgeous. I don't know what else I expected with her bein' yours." Deacon observed.

"Deacon, this is Maddie." Rayna put her in his arms. "Baby girl, say hi to your Uncle Deacon." Those words killed her soul a little bit. Even more than that it hurt her to see them together. It would have hurt worse to not see them together though.

Deacon looked down at the tiny little girl in his arms. He made sure to hold her tight and close to his heart. She calmed down right away. "Hi, Miss Maddie, it's nice to meet you." He had to swallow around a lump in his throat to speak. He'd come so close to this being his and he'd blown it.

"Deacon, look I need you to come back to the band. I can't do this without you. I know that new boundaries have to be drawn, but I need you. In the past that's always been enough for you to do it." Rayna leveled with him. It was the only way she could think of to keep him and Maddie close to each other. She wasn't about to go out on the road and leave her daughter so that would at least give them a few years together.

"Ray, I really have to think about it. I was a mess before and I admit that, but we both deserved way better than the way you ended things. You may be over me, but I ain't had the chance to get over you yet. I ain't even over the fact that you got over me so damn fast. It makes me question if you ever even cared about me." Deacon shook his head. He knew that in the end he'd do it like always. He'd bent over backwards to give her the world and he still failed. He didn't think he could stand it to let her down one more time.

"Just think about it. You know that musically things have always been good between us." Rayna reminded him.

"Like we both don't know that I'm gonna do it because you need me to. I probably have somethin' I can't remember that I need to punish myself for anyway." Deacon handed Maddie back to her.

"I'll have Bucky call you. I need to get back out on the road soon." Rayna told him.

"I'm sure he still knows how to get ahold of me. I'll be waitin' for his call. It was nice to meet you, Maddie. I'll be seein' more of ya." Deacon tickled her under her chin and she smiled at him. He actually smiled back at her.

"Deacon, you ain't gotta go yet." Rayna just wanted to stand there with him for a little while longer.

"I do gotta go, Ray. You're gettin' what you want from me let that be enough. You enjoy that beautiful little girl and I'll be seein' you around." Deacon made himself walk away.

It took everything that Rayna had in her not to call out after him. She closed her eyes tightly to keep the tears away. "Maddie Bug, that was your daddy. I think you knew that though. You know his voice or just recognized his touch I'm not sure which. My beautiful girl, you look so much like him. I think that's my punishment for keepin' you two apart. I'm sorry for that, but it's for the best. I love him, but I love you more and I can't let you go through hell with him." She whispered softly.

"There my girls are." Teddy greeted Rayna and Maddie when they walked into the house.

"What are you doin' home this time of day?" Rayna asked him. Truthfully she was still getting used to him. She didn't know him that well. She'd been with him months compared to the decade plus she'd spent with Deacon.

"I came home for lunch. I was surprised that you and Maddie weren't here." Teddy took the car seat from her and sat it on the counter. He took Maddie out and kissed her cheek. "There's daddy's princess."

Rayna almost felt bad for the blow she was about to deal him. There was no denying that he loved Maddie. She really appreciated that. "Teddy, I saw Deacon today and I asked him to come back to my band. He said yes. I just thought I'd let you know."

"Rayna, what the hell were you thinking?" Teddy's smile froze.

"I was thinking that I need a guitarist that I can work with. I was also thinking that I can't live with what I'm doing unless I make it right in some way. She's his daughter and I can't keep them totally apart. Teddy, one of these days this secret we're tryin' to keep is gonna come out. As a mother and as someone who loves the both of them I have to at least be able to say I made sure they were around each other. You don't have to like it, but it's how it's gonna be. I want her to know him. She is so undeniably his. I can't look into his face every time I look at her and justify this." Rayna laid down the law.

"You promised me that you would never tell him." Teddy reminded her.

"I'm not gonna tell him, but we are living on borrowed time. One of them will find out one way or the other. You took us in and I'll honor the agreement that we made, but they both deserve better. I don't know what I'm thinking." Rayna ran her hands over her face. Deacon had gotten it so, so wrong. She wasn't anywhere close to over him.

"Then let's make the most of it." Teddy put his arm around her in a comforting gesture.

* * *

"Hey, Ray, there you are. Look at me I'm all clean and I feel a little bit better after that shower." Deacon smiled at her when she walked back into his room.

"I'm so glad to hear that, baby." Rayna put her hand over her mouth because she was on the verge of tears.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Deacon could tell that something more than him being sick was wrong with her.

"Deacon, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I've apologized for keeping Maddie from you, but I think I need to apologize for keepin' you in her life and not telling you the truth." Rayna felt a few tears spill down her cheek.

"Baby, you're done sayin' sorry, it's in the past now. We can't change it and I know we both want to. I needed more time to be her daddy, but I have to settle for what I got. What brought this on?" Deacon replied.

"I also want to tell you that I'm sorry for bein' so hard on you. You were entitled to that slip off the wagon. Like I said earlier I destroyed you and you had loved me the best way you could for all those years we weren't together. I'll tell you what brought this on. This whole surgery is thanks to Teddy. He rushed them when they were giving you treatment the night of the accident. He's the reason they didn't catch the injury to your heart. I went over to daddy's and I read him the riot act." Rayna explained.

"Ray, the best thing to do is just leave it alone. No good will come from diggin' up the past. We are in a great place. We are happy and we are solid. There ain't a damn thing in the world that can change that. You let me off the hook earlier and now I'm lettin' you off the hook. I love you, Rayna, you can't keep doin' this to yourself. This is no one's fault. This is just one of things that happen. I was lucky, they caught it, and now I'm gonna be fine. You'll have to deal with me for years to come." Deacon put her at ease.

"I love you so damn much, man." Rayna kissed him deeply.

"And I love you so damn much, woman." Deacon mumbled against her lips.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I had to throw a little drama in. We had to see Rayna go into to protective mode again when it comes to Deacon. Until next time please review.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 27

"Hey, what are you doing home? Shouldn't you still be at the hospital with dad?" Maddie asked when Rayna came in the house.

"He wanted me to come home to be with the kids this morning. I'm gonna head back up there as soon as I get them off to school. He insisted that they need their momma and he would be ok." Rayna sat her purse down on the counter.

"How's he doing?" Daphne looked at her mother over the rim of her coffee cup.

"He's doin' really well. He's up and walkin' around. He's still bein' a crabby bastard, but he's on the mend. I'll deal with the bad attitude as long as it means he's gettin' better." Rayna poured herself some coffee.

"I will go up there later and keep him company for a little while. I want you to go do something for yourself. If it's nothing more than going to get your nails done. You need to be away from that hospital for a couple of hours. He's fine and you don't have to be with him every minute of the day, mom." Maddie told her.

"Maddie, he's my husband and the absolute love of my life. I don't mind bein' up at that hospital with him. Right now I wanna take every minute with him that I can, because I just almost lost him. I really appreciate you girls for stepping up and helping out the way that you have." Rayna replied.

"Mom, we don't mind stepping in and helping out at all. We are a family that's what we're here for. You do need to be out of there for a couple hours though. It's ok for you to take a break. Dad won't mind at all. You should spend some time with Jack after you drop the other three off at school. They really miss both of you." Daphne added.

"Ok, I can do that. If it'll get both ya'll off my case I'll do it. I need to ask ya'll a question though. How has Deac been? Has he seemed off to either of you at all?" Rayna was really worried about her oldest son.

"Deac has been a little quiet, but he's always quiet. He's the reflective introspective one. He takes after dad that way." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"He seems fine to me too. He's excited about his birthday and the new song that he's learning to play on guitar." Daphne put her two cents in.

"Has he said anything about your daddy at all? He has been a little stand offish from him." Rayna sipped her coffee.

"He hasn't mentioned dad all that much. And for him that is odd. He thinks that the sun comes up in the morning because dad makes it so." Maddie searched her memory bank for the information she needed.

Daphne looked thoughtful. "I don't think that he's talked about dad at all. The other three ask about him. I don't remember him asking anything about him."

"That's what I needed to know." Rayna pursed her lips.

"Alright, I think a meltdown has been averted we found the shirt that he wanted to wear. He's all ready for a day of bein' a big boy rancher with me. The other three are just finishin' up gettin' dressed and they will be right down." JC walked in holding Jack on his hip.

"Momma!" Jack wiggled out of JC's grasp and ran to Rayna.

Rayna picked him up and kissed his cheek. "There's my baby boy."

"I missed you, momma." Jack hugged her neck tightly.

"I missed you too, little monkey." Rayna sat him back on his feet.

"You ready to go out there with me or do you wanna stay and hang with your momma?" JC asked him. Those two had already been up for a while.

Jack looked between JC and Rayna.

"Baby, if you wanna go play with Jimmy you go play with Jimmy. I want you to have some fun you deserve it." Rayna smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead.

"Come on, Jimmy, let's go." Jack reached his hand out to him.

"We both have to put our coats on before we go out. We can't get sick." JC put his coat on and then he put Jack's on.

"You two have fun. I will see you later when you come to visit daddy." Rayna waved at him before they went outside.

"Thank God for Jimmy. He's kept that him entertained and satisfied. He's only had two major emotional breakdowns and I think that's a record." Maddie chuckled.

"If he doesn't make it as a singer he would make one hell of a manny. Jack Henry throws tantrums even with daddy and me." Rayna looked impressed.

"Somebody owes her fiancé some serious sexual favors." Daphne teased.

"Ew, that is gross I don't wanna hear that. Do me a favor. One of you take Jayme and Charlie to school. I need to have a mother son moment with my oldest boy." Rayna needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with Deac before it turned into a serious problem.

"I've got them they don't like it when Maddie drops them off she goes out of her way to embarrass them." Daphne grabbed her keys.

"Thank you, sweetheart, you're one of the loves of your momma's life." Rayna smiled at her. She went upstairs to the twins' bedroom.

"Momma!" Jayme and Deac exclaimed at the same time.

Rayna hugged and kissed them both. "Jayme, I need you to take Charlie downstairs I think Daphne wants to stop and get ya'll breakfast on the way to school. I need to talk to Deac."

"Ok, momma." Jayme skipped off to do as he was told.

"Did I do somethin' wrong?" Deac asked worriedly.

"No, you didn't do anythin' wrong at all. How do you feel about goin' for a ride with me?" Rayna asked him.

"But I have to go to school." Deac looked a little confused.

"Don't you worry about school. I'll take care of that. Just meet me in the garage in five minutes ok? Put some old boots and jeans on." Rayna stroked his cheek gently with her thumb.

"Ok, momma." Deac nodded his head.

* * *

Rayna was leaned up against the side of Betty wearing a leather jacket, a ball cap, and a pair of aviator sunglasses when Deac finally came out. "Here, you're gonna need these." She handed him a spare pair of aviators.

"Where are we goin'?" Deac asked.

"Don't worry 'bout that just yet." Rayna grabbed an old ball cap off the driver's seat. "Put that on and get in."

Deac adjusted the hat and put it on and got in the car. "You never let us ride in Betty."

"Today I'm makin' an exception to that rule. You just enjoy the ride." Rayna backed out of the garage. She drove to a gas station and handed Deac a wad of cash. "Go in there and get us some food and somethin' to drink. I'll wait out here. I don't wanna go in there and risk someone recognizing me."

"I'll be right back, momma." Deac went inside.

Rayna watched him carefully through the door of the gas station. She smiled to herself and thought how grown up he was getting.

Deac came back out five minutes later carrying a bag and a cup of coffee.

"What did you get for us?" Rayna asked.

"I got doughnuts, honey buns, chocolate milk, and coffee for you." Deac reported.

"How do I take my coffee?" Rayna asked him.

"Two creams and two sugars." Deac answered expertly.

"Very good boy. Where's my change?" Rayna held her hand out.

"Oh you don't have any change." Deac bit his lip to hide his grin.

"Mhmm, I see how it is. You kids are always keepin' my change. I should be used to it." Rayna laughed. She turned on the radio to an oldies country station. "Give me one of those doughnuts."

Deac handed her a doughnut. "I even got chocolate just like you like."

"You did good, Bubba." Rayna started driving.

"Thanks, momma." Deac smiled clearly pleased with himself.

"So, your birthday is comin' up are you excited?" Rayna tried to make conversation with him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited." Deac nodded his head.

"I can't believe that you're gonna be a big ten-year-old already. It seems just like yesterday that I was pregnant with you and your brother. I remember when my doctor told us that you two were gonna be boys. Your daddy he just lit up and I was scared to death. I knew how to handle girls, but I didn't know what I was gonna do with boys." Rayna recalled for him.

"Really?" Deac was a boy of very few words.

"Really. I was so excited though. I knew that it was gonna be the biggest best adventure of my life." Rayna reached over and patted his knee. She started singing along with the radio.

Deac joined in and he drummed his fingers on the dash.

After they'd been driving for a while Rayna pulled into her mother's property.

"What are we doin' here, momma?" Deac looked around confused.

"You'll see in just a minute." Rayna got out and opened the trunk. She took an assortment of bottles and cans out and set them up on the fence posts. She went back to the trunk and pulled out two gun cases. "Come over here and pick your poison."

"We came up here to go shootin'?" Deac's eyes got wide and he grinned.

"That's right. We came all the way up here to do some shootin'. You know this was my momma's land and I like to come up here when I need to clear my head. I thought that I'd bring you along today. You know more about guns than I do, so I figured you could help me out." Rayna tucked a strand of hair behind her ears.

"I can do that. Let's start with the revolver." Deac took one of the guns out of the case and loaded it. He pointed the muzzle down at the ground. "It's ready to go."

"You go on and take a few shots first. I need a refresher." Rayna told him.

"Step back behind me, momma. You need to be safe." Deac instructed her.

Rayna stepped back and covered her ears.

Deac lined up his shot. He shot six of the cans off the fence posts and then he popped the cylinder out of the revolver and expelled the spent brass into his hand.

"You're a pretty good shot aren't you?" Rayna observed.

"Daddy, says the I'm the best shot in the family." Deac reloaded the gun.

"I think he might be right. Let me try my hand at this." Rayna took the gun from him.

Deac stepped back behind her and covered his ears.

Rayna emptied the gun and she managed to hit three of the bottles. "That was fun. Let's try out the other one. You need to go set up some more targets."

"Ok, momma." Deac scampered off to do as she said.

"Deacon John, you watch out for that glass." Rayna called after him.

"Aw, momma, you didn't have to break out my full name. That's what you call daddy when you're mad at him." Deac groaned.

"I just want you to be careful. Come over here a minute." Rayna waved him over. She picked him up and sat him on the truck of the car. "Good lord, boy, what are we feedin' you? You're gettin' heavy."

"What?" Deac looked up at her.

"Did I ever tell you how you got your name?" Rayna asked him.

Deac shook his head. "No, I just figured that daddy named me."

"Nope, I named you. When we found out that you were both boys your daddy and I agreed that we each got to name one of you. I had gone back and forth 'bout what I was gonna name you. At one point I even thought 'bout namin' you Gibson. But when I saw the look on your daddy's face when you were born and how happy he was I knew that your name had to be Deacon John Claybourne Jr. He wasn't so sold on the idea at first, but he came around." Rayna pushed his hat up and kissed his forehead.

"That's cool." Deac smiled a little bit. "You ready to try the other gun out now?" He changed the subject quickly.

"I sure am." Rayna hid a frown. He'd changed the subject too quickly for her liking.

They both took a couple more turns on each of the guns before they spoke again.

"Hey, Deac, can I ask you somethin'?" Rayna looked at him thoughtfully.

"Sure, momma." Deac replied.

"Are you maybe mad at your daddy a little bit? You seem to be a bit stand offish and quiet when he comes up." Rayna leaned up against the side of the car.

"Why would I be mad at daddy?" Deac looked down at the ground.

"For bein' sick for almost leavin' us. It's ok to be mad and it's ok to be mad at him. It's even ok for you to tell him that you're mad at him. What's not ok is for you to shut him out and not talk to him. He loves ya more than anythin' and I know how much he means to you. I would hate to see you two not be as close as you've always been." Rayna put her hand on his shoulder.

Deac looked up at her with tears filling his eyes and he nodded his head.

Rayna covered her mouth with her hand and took a moment to compose herself. "Oh, my sweet baby boy, come here." She hugged him tightly.

Deac buried his face in her shirt and started crying.

"Shh, it's ok, momma's here. Momma's got you. I know." Rayna held him tight and rocked him back and forth.

"I was so scared, momma." Deac clung to her like his life depended on it.

"Do you maybe need to tell daddy that? Would that make you feel better? Would it help you to get that off your chest?" Rayna wiped a tear from her cheek.

Deac nodded his head pitifully.

"Ok, come on, let's go see daddy." Rayna kissed his head.

* * *

"You don't want anything to eat, you don't want to nap, and you don't want to try to play your guitar. I think at this point it would be easier for you to tell me what you do want." Maddie sighed in frustration. She honestly didn't know how her mother put up with him. He was being the biggest crab ass on the face of the planet.

"I'm not hungry, I'm not tired, and I'm in a lot of pain I don't really feel like playin' guitar. Forgive the hell out of me if I ain't all sunshine and roses right now." Deacon sat up in the recliner wearing sweats, house shoes, and a t-shirt with a flannel over it.

"That's putting it mildly, dad. You're being an asshole. I know that you're sick and in pain and you don't mean it, but you are being so difficult right now. If this is the crap that mom is putting up with every second of the day then she deserves to be made a saint. If I were her I would have ran screaming from this hospital days ago." Maddie stared him down. She was just as stubborn as he was.

"I'm sorry I really don't mean to be in a bad mood. I'm just sick and hurt. I want out of this place so damn bad I can taste it. Nothin' is to my satisfaction right now. I have a short fuse anyway and this is only makin' it worse." Deacon apologized.

"If you want to get out of here so damn badly you need to start eating and get your strength up. Daddy, you've had no appetite since you got out of surgery and that really worries me." Maddie reasoned with him.

"I'm just not hungry. Mike says that that's to be expected with all the pain killers I'm on and that my appetite will come back in time. I can't force myself to eat nothin' even sounds good." Deacon grumbled.

"Is this what I'm like when you guys are trying to talk sense into me?" Maddie shook head at him in disgust. She loved him to death, but she also wanted to strangle him to death at the moment.

"That's exactly what you're like only you're mouthier." Rayna came in with Deac.

"Well, hey ya'll. I'm surprised to see this guy he's supposed to be in school right now." Deacon had to grab his teddy bear and clutch it tightly while he coughed.

"Maddie, take a break. Deac has something that he would like to say to daddy." Rayna told Maddie.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'm going downstairs. Call me if you want or need anything at all." Maddie grabbed her purse and left the room.

"It's ok, Deac, you can tell daddy what we talked about." Rayna encouraged her son.

Deacon cleared his throat to get his voice back. "Bubba, you know that you can tell me anythin'. If you got somethin' you wanna say to me say it."

"I'm mad at you, daddy. You scared me so bad. I thought you were gonna die and I shouldn't have seen that. I shouldn't have had to see you like that. You're supposed to be like a super hero. I had to be the man of the house cause I'm the oldest. I had to be brave for everyone else I didn't get to have my feelings." Deac blasted his father with both barrels.

"Come here, Deacon John." Deacon gestured for him to come over to him.

Deac rushed right over to him and buried his face in his chest. "You looked so bad, daddy."

Deacon ignored the pain in his chest and hugged his son as tightly as he could. "I know and daddy is so, so sorry that he scared you like that. I never wanted you to see me like that. I am so proud of you though. You behaved exactly like I taught you to in that situation. I'm so sorry that I put you in that position."

"I'm sorry that I said I was mad at you. I'm not mad I was just so scared for you." Deac cried into his chest.

"I know that. It's ok, Bubba. You helped save your daddy's life and I will never forget that." Deacon ignored everything that the doctor had told him and he pulled his son up onto his lap with a grimace on his face.

"Careful, Deacon." Rayna cautioned him.

"I've got him." Deacon held tight to his son. "Daddy's here he's got ya. You just let it all out. You don't have to be strong all the time. Bein' strong all the time ain't what makes you a good man. Bein' able to cry and bein' able to be vulnerable is what makes you a good man."

"You gotta start taking care of yourself, babe. These boys need you 'round to teach them how to be good men." Rayna went over and kissed the top of his head.

"I know that. Do you think you can maybe give me some time alone with my boy? I love you, babe, but I think he needs some daddy time right now." Deacon replied.

"I think that can be arranged. I'm gonna go talk to your doctor and see how you're doin' today. And then I'm gonna go catch up with Maddie. You just be careful with him and don't pull any of your stitches." Rayna warned him.

"I got him it'll be fine." Deacon reassured her.

* * *

"Mom, I don't know how you can stand him right now. I wanna strangle the life out of him." Maddie put her head in her hands and sighed.

"I take him with a grain of salt that's how I'm handlin' him right now. He gets like this. I know that he doesn't mean and that helps a lot. He's always been like this. He's a big baby when he gets sick. As long as I baby him he's manageable." Rayna chuckled softly.

"You wanna tell me why you look like one half of Thelma and Louise?" Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"I've been up at your mawmaw's property shooting with Deac. It was the only thing I can think of to get him to open up. Thank God it worked. I was really worried about him." Rayna sighed.

"Mom, you're really one of the strongest women that I know. I don't know anyone else that could have handled this with the grace that you have." Maddie was in awe of her for that.

"That's one of the good things about datin' an alcoholic. It makes you a lot stronger than you ever thought you could be. You just learn to handle things on your own or they won't get handled at all. I haven't been that graceful about it. I flew off the handle when I figured out how his artery got injured." Rayna shrugged.

"I won't ask I figure if you wanted me to know you would have said already." Maddie replied.

"The only thing you need to know is that he wasn't given the proper treatment the night of the car accident and we'll leave it at that." Rayna held back the truth from her.

"Would that have anything to do with why I got a text from Teddy saying that no matter what happened or what anyone said he'd always love me and I'd always be his daughter?" Maddie asked.

"Sweetie, you know as well as I do that Teddy is a flawed man, but he does love you girls. I have my problems with him, but I won't bad mouth him to you. I will say this though I don't think you need to be around him for a while. I'm really good and pissed at him this time." Rayna figured that she was an adult and keeping the truth from her hadn't worked so well in the past.

"No, he could have caused my daddy to die. I don't want anything to do with him. I don't know if I ever will again. He acts like that whatever he does I should automatically forgive all of his sins because he loved me like his own even though he knew I wasn't. He holds that over my head like some kind of loaded gun to lay a guilt trip on me when he wants something or does something wrong." Maddie fumed.

"Maddie, you have every right to feel any way that you need to right now. You just don't want to say anything in the heat of passion that you'll regret later. I'm not defending Teddy at all. What he did was dead wrong. I just know that deep down inside you still love him or you wouldn't be this mad at him right now. If you had truly stopped caring it wouldn't hurt you so badly." Rayna reached over and put her hand on top of hers.

"Mom, I just can't with him. He acts like dad is the worse person to ever walk the face of the earth, but he does all this bullshit and expects to just have the slate wiped clean. Of course I still care about him no matter how much I don't want to. It's just a damn mess that I don't want to deal with. Things were easier when he was still in prison and I didn't have to think about him. He has no clue what he put Daphne and me through with all his crap." Maddie squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm here for you no matter what you need, baby girl." Rayna assured her.

"I know that, mom. I really, really appreciate it." Maddie smiled at her a little bit.

"I'm your momma that's my job." Rayna smiled back at her.

"We should probably head back upstairs and check on daddy and Deac." Maddie suggested.

"That's probably a good idea. Plus, I want to talk to the doctor and see when they are gonna let that man out of this place. I think that he will at least be in a better mood once he gets home. That would be something at the very least." Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose.

"He's doing well. Hopefully they let him come home soon." Maddie took Rayna's hand.

"We can only hope, baby girl. We can only hope." Rayna squeezed her hand tightly.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I had to get a little emotional in this chapter just to give us a change of pace. I've got some really good stuff coming up for you. Until next time please review.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 28

"Paul, if I leave you alone with him for a little while will you be able to handle it? You can't fight with him or upset him in any way. He's really crabby and you're just gonna have to take it." Rayna stood outside Deacon's hospital room talking to Paul.

"I think I can handle that. He's my son I'm pretty sure I can deal with him." Paul replied.

"I mean it, Paul. I know your track record with him. I just have no other choice right now. He's comin' home tomorrow and I need to go get some things ready for him." Rayna warned him.

"Like I said I have it under control." Paul assured her.

"You say that now, but you really don't understand how mouthy he is when he's sick. You have to not react to that." Rayna explained.

"I can ignore the attitude. I'm the one he got it from. I promise not to fight or argue with him. You can trust me with him." Paul swore.

"Don't make me regret this, Paul. I just don't want him to be alone. You were the only person I could call. If I'd had another option I would have taken it. All you have to do is entertain him a little bit. With any bit of luck he won't want to talk anyway. He will probably just want to sit there, watch tv, and nap." Rayna gave him the run down.

"That sounds good to me. I can work with that." Paul nodded his head.

"Alright, good luck. You're gonna need it. I will be back as soon as I can." Rayna stressed to him.

"It'll be fine. He's my little boy. Give me a chance to treat him like my little boy." Paul squeezed her shoulder.

"You're right it'll be ok. If not I'll hear about it later." Rayna agreed with him.

"I'm headed in now." Paul gave her a smile before he walked in to be with Deacon.

* * *

"Maddie, do you have any clue why mom called us all here?" Daphne showed up at the house with Joel. The two of them had been attempting to spend some time together.

"Your guess is as good as mine on that one. The only thing I know is she told me to make sure that Jimmy was here. There's no telling with the woman what she wants." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, man, it's good to see you again." Joel offered JC his hand.

JC shook his hand. "It's good to see you again too. You treatin' my girl right?"

"Do you think she'd still be spendin' time with me if I wasn't?" Joel arched his eyebrow.

"You make a very good point on that one." JC laughed.

"Daphne, I like him. You need to keep him around." Maddie grinned.

"That's the plan for now anyway." Daphne retorted.

"You're still on probation, buddy. You better be on your best behavior for a while yet." JC punched his shoulder in a gesture of friendliness.

Joel retaliated by pretending to punch JC in the gut. "I know. I'm lucky that she even looks at me."

"I'm pretty damn lucky too. Have you seen how hot my fiancé is? She's totally outta my league, but that hasn't stopped her from stickin' with me for ten years." JC smiled proudly.

"So ya'll are basically high school sweethearts." Joel observed.

"Pretty much even though he was out of school when we started dating." Maddie confirmed.

"Hey, ya'll, thanks for comin' over here. I'm sorry I'm so late. I had to get someone to sit with Deacon. Paul was the only one available and I had to give him instructions." Rayna rushed into the house.

"Don't worry about it, mom." Maddie reassured her.

"Joel, I'm glad that you're here. Jimmy is gonna need some help." Rayna smiled at him.

"I'll help in any way that I can, Ms. Jaymes." Joel replied politely.

"I think I told you once before to call me Rayna. Besides that, we aren't in public it's Mrs. Claybourne here." Rayna told him.

"Whatever you want, Rayna." Joel parroted.

"Mom, what are we doing here?" Daphne asked.

"I have a delivery comin' any minute now. It's a nice recliner for your father. He can't lay in bed for a while because he can't get up with his chest. It'll hurt him like a bitch. He's gonna have to sleep in a recliner. And there was no way in hell I was letting him take the recliner he got when we bought the house in East Nashville up to my bedroom. I even got it in a camo pattern for him even though it matches none of my furniture. He better appreciate me. What I need is these two to carry it up there. I'm weird about strange people bein' in my bedroom." Rayna answered her.

"I think that I can handle that." JC crossed his arms.

"That's no trouble at all." Joel agreed.

"Thank you, boys, so much. I really appreciate this." Rayna told them gratefully.

"Mom, they had nothing better to do with their time. You're probably keeping them both out of trouble." Maddie shook her head.

"Jimmy has been doin' an awful lot around here lately. I feel bad for askin' him to do anythin' else. You need to be nicer to him, Madison." Rayna scolded her playfully.

"I'm plenty nice to him when I need to be." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Jimmy, you better keep track of the favors that she owes you and make sure that she doesn't try to get out of them when it comes time to pay up." Rayna advised JC with a straight face.

JC just started laughing.

"Oh my God! Mom, you did not just say that." Maddie groaned.

"Daphne, your mom is awesome." Joel grinned.

"No she's embarrassing. I can't believe she just said that either." Daphne shook her head.

"Ya'll didn't know me before I was momma. I do have this whole side of me that you know nothin' 'bout." Rayna winked at them.

"Let's keep it that way especially in front of these two. We kinda like them and we don't want you to scare them away." Maddie begged her.

"Relax ya'll couldn't handle my wild side anyway. Also I don't think any of you are mature enough to handle it." Rayna laughed. She really got a sick sense of pleasure out of messing with her daughters.

"Does your wild side drink like Maddie?" Daphne questioned.

"The fact that you even think Maddie drinks a lot tells me that you couldn't have handled me at her age or your age for that matter. I could drink a lot more than I've ever seen your sister drink. Hell I still can drink more than I've ever seen her drink I just pay for it the mornin' after. As my sister will tell you I'm not as young as I used to be." Rayna laughed.

Elvis let out a loud bay to let them know that someone was at the door.

"Elvis, shut up!" Maddie and Daphne yelled at him in unison.

"Don't be mean to him. He was just lettin' you know that someone is here. I'll get the door." JC gave the pair a hard look and went to answer the door.

"That's why the dog likes Deac better than anyone. And the sad thing is the dog was bought for you two long before I found out I was pregnant with those boys." Rayna shook her head.

"Rayna! Where do you want me to have them leave this?" JC led the delivery men in.

"It's up to you. You're the one who has to move it." Rayna told him.

"Ya'll just leave it right where you are. We will take it from there." JC told them where to leave it.

"Jimmy, give this two them." Rayna handed him some cash to tip them.

"Sure thing." JC tipped them. "Joel, you ready?"

"Yeah, this can't be that heavy." Joel rolled his sleeves up. He wasn't even flexing and the muscles in his forearms were already bulging.

"Rayna, go on up to your room and then you can show us where you want this." JC got on one side of the chair.

"I'll see you guys up there." Rayna headed up the stairs.

"Daph, tell me that you cleaned up mom and dad's room." Maddie begged her sister.

"I didn't clean their room you were supposed to." Daphne argued.

"Shit, she's gonna kill us." Maddie groaned.

"Joel, you wanna do this on three?" JC did his best to ignore the other two.

"Yeah, that works for me. You wanna go backwards or do you want me to?" Joel replied.

"We're about the same size here so that makes no difference. I'll go backwards you guide us." JC stooped down.

"Lift on three." Joel stooped down too. "One, two, three." He counted off.

They both lifted the chair and carried it upstairs to Rayna and Deacon's bedroom.

"You two can sit it right there on my side of the bed. I wanna be able to keep an eye on him. If it's there he can get to the bathroom easier and he can still see the tv." Rayna showed them where to sit it.

"Jimmy, watch your fingers these rails on the bottom of this are sharp." Joel cautioned him.

"I got it, Joel. Set it down on three." JC replied. "Three, two, one," They sat the chair down where Rayna had indicated.

"Thank you, boys. I really appreciate you doin' that for me." Rayna gave them both a hug.

"You know that I would do anythin' for you that all you have to do is ask." JC told her.

"I was happy to help." Joel smiled.

"Jimmy, you can tell your bride to be to clean my room before her father gets home. I don't care that they were all laying in here watching movies. I care that they left a mess in here." Rayna looked around and shook her head.

"This wasn't even all six of them. This was just the girls. AKA Maddie made this mess. The boys were with me downstairs. I live with Maddie I know firsthand how messy she is. I have to clean before our cleanin' lady comes on Mondays and Wednesdays." JC didn't hesitate to rat Maddie out before she had the chance to pin it all on him.

"You think you're tellin' me anythin' that I don't know? I know how your fiancé is. Just kindly remind her that her daddy is a in a bad mood anyway and she really doesn't want him comin' home to a mess in the bedroom." Rayna patted his back.

"I wanna know how you get away with your cleanin' lady only comin' twice a week. There's only one of me and mine comes every day." Joel looked shocked.

"I clean up after myself that's how that works. And I actually clean I don't save all the work for someone else. It doesn't kill me to pick up a mop and broom." JC laughed at him.

"I have four kids under the age of ten plus two twenty-somethings that are in and out of here all the time. My cleaning lady still only comes three times a week. I don't wanna know what you're doin' to make that kind of mess." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"You're right you don't. Football parties get a little out of hand sometimes. I think we are actually worse than musicians when it comes to that." Joel admitted.

"It sounds like you might be." Rayna agreed with him there.

"Mom, about the mess in here we meant to clean that up we just never got around to it." Maddie said from the doorway.

"I know it'll be clean by the time I get your dad home tomorrow. I don't wanna deal with him if it's not and you don't wanna deal with me if I have to deal with him." Rayna warned her.

"If we blamed it on Charlie he wouldn't fly off the handle. We all know how much his little Pistol gets away with." Maddie suggested.

"I promise you that it's not gonna kill you to throw some trash away and to vacuum the floor." Rayna looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"It actually may though." JC muttered.

"Jimmy," Maddie glared at him.

"Sorry," JC mumbled.

"That's what I thought." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Joel, I apologize for those two." Daphne sighed.

"Daphne, don't worry about it. They are fine." Joel assured her.

"Ok, I need to get back to the hospital before Deacon and Paul have a chance to get into it." Rayna said.

"I still can't believe that you left those two alone together." Maddie didn't think that was a very good idea.

"I didn't have a choice or I wouldn't have done it." Rayna grabbed Deacon a set of clothes out of his drawer. He would have nothing to wear home otherwise.

* * *

Deacon sat in the recliner picking his guitar and Paul sat in a chair across from him picking a guitar. The two had been playing music together to help them stay off of each other's nerves.

"Are you supposed to be doing that?" Mike stood in the doorway.

"Nope," Deacon replied.

"Does it hurt to do it?" Mike asked.

"Yep," Deacon nodded.

"Are you gonna stop?" Mike chuckled.

"Nope," Deacon shook his head.

"If you're not in unbearable pain I'm not gonna make you stop either. You guys sounded pretty damn good. I've been listening in while I do my rounds." Mike pulled on a pair of gloves to check Deacon's incision. "This looks really good. It's not infected or anything."

"Good. I should hope that we sound good. I make a livin' playin' guitar and he's a songwriter." Deacon retorted.

Mike looked between them. "This your dad? You look a lot like him."

"Yeah, I guess you could call him that. Paul Claybourne, this is my doctor Mike Hutchins. Mike, this is my father Paul." Deacon introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Mike shook Paul's hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Paul smiled politely.

"You still lettin' me out of this hell hole tomorrow?" Deacon asked hopefully.

"I sure am. I want you gone, the nurses want you gone, and your wife wants you gone. Though I feel sorry for Rayna. You're in one hell of a foul ass mood." Mike answered.

"It's mostly because I'm cooped up in here. I'll be better when I get outta here." Deacon told a little white lie. His mood would last for as long as he couldn't do everything that he was used to doing.

"Would two mind playing me a little something as long as I'm in here?" Mike asked them.

"We can do that." Paul answered. "You wanna start?"

"Yeah, I'll start." Deacon started picking a tune. _"Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold. They rather give you a song than diamonds or gold."_

" _Lone star belt buckles and old faded Levis. And each night begins a new day. If you don't understand him and he don't die young he'll probably just ride away."_ Paul picked up.

" _Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks. Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Cause they'll never stay home and they're always alone even with someone they love."_ Deacon and Paul sang together.

" _Cowboys like smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings."_ Paul sang.

" _Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night."_ Deacon took that line.

" _Them that don't know him won't like him and them that do sometimes won't know how to take him. He ain't wrong he's just different, but his pride won't let him do things to make you think he's right."_ Father and son actually smiled at each other when they sang that line. It pretty much described both of them very well.

Mike watched them with a smile on his face. This was as happy as he'd seen Deacon the whole time he'd been in the hospital. This was good for him as far as he was concerned.

" _Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them old trucks. Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Cause they'll never stay home and they're always alone even with someone they love."_ They finished in unison.

"Mike, you just got one hell of a treat. It's very rare that those two can get along long enough to play together." Rayna caught the tail end of the song.

"I thought that they sounded damn good together." Mike was impressed.

"The old man has one hell of a voice for someone his age. He plays down at the Mile Marker sometimes you should go check him out." Rayna agreed.

"I just may have to do that." Mike smiled. "He's all set to go home tomorrow. He's gonna be all yours. I just wanna keep him for observation tonight, but he is doing very well."

"Good that's what I like to hear. I miss my bed and I can't wait to sleep in it. And I will be really glad to have him home." Rayna sighed in relief.

"I can give him some happy pills if you think that'll make him easier to deal with." Mike offered.

"They wouldn't or I would take you up on that offer in a New York minute." Rayna whispered back.

"Hey, I heard that." Deacon frowned.

"I meant for you to hear it." Rayna rolled her eyes at him.

"I think I'm just gonna go before I get caught up in the middle of this." Paul started to pack up his guitar.

"You're not just gonna get up and walk out like that. This is the first time you've visited him. I ain't lettin' you off the hook that easily. You stay and help deal with him." Rayna laid a pretty good guilt trip on him.

"I'll be back to check on him a little later." Mike patted her shoulder.

"Thanks, Mike." Rayna smiled at him.

"I need to call a nurse. I need my pain meds. My chest hurts. I think I'm done playin' for a little while." Deacon winced as he put his guitar down.

"But it makes you happy." Rayna kissed his head.

"I know that I've been in a bad mood and I know that you have been great. I really love you and I don't deserve you." Deacon smiled up at her.

"I love you and that's why I put up with your crabby ass." Rayna winked at him.

"Lean down here and give me some real sugar." Deacon tilted his head up.

"I can arrange that." Rayna leaned down and kissed his lips.

Deacon kissed her back and he put his hand on her ass. "Mmm, that's the best damn medicine in the world."

"You are so damn bad, baby. That's how I know you're feelin' better though you're already tryin' to cop a feel." Rayna rested her forehead against his.

"DJ, I ain't leavin' ya, but I do have to go down to the cafeteria and get somethin' to eat. I have to take my shot soon." Paul could feel his blood sugar starting to get low.

"Or you can just order my lunch and have it. I still ain't hungry at all." Deacon offered.

"That works for me." Paul agreed.

"Babe, is there anythin' that sounds good that you will even attempt to eat?" Rayna asked him. She was really worried about him not eating.

"No, not really." Deacon replied.

"Deac, please for me?" Rayna begged him.

"I'd like a steak and some fries. That's the only thing that really sounds good to me right now I'm sorry." Deacon thought it over for a minute.

"I'll call Maddie and have her get that for you. Paul, what do you want? I'm not gonna subject you to this hospital food." Rayna had a soft spot for the old man and she couldn't help it.

"I'm good with what DJ is gettin'." Paul replied.

"Ok, I'll let Maddie know then." Rayna pulled out her phone to text Maddie.

"I want you people to know that I have better things to do with my day than play delivery driver for you." Maddie walked in twenty minutes later with their food.

"No you don't. I happen to know that you pushed your schedule back." Rayna got her there.

"Doesn't mean I can't attempt to make the two of them feel guilty." Maddie grumbled.

"Thank you, Princess. Your daddy appreciates everythin' that you've been doin' to help out. Your momma and I couldn't ask for a better daughter and big sister." Deacon laid it on thick.

Maddie bent down and kissed Deacon's cheek. "You're welcome, daddy. I know that you're just saying that. I have my moments when I'm not so great and I'll admit to that. But it is nice to know that you think so highly of me."

"You're my baby girl I'll always think only the best things 'bout you." Deacon winked at her.

"I know what you are, cause you're part of me." Paul joked with her.

Maddie kissed the top of her grandfather's head. "Hi, Pa. You behaving yourself?"

"Never, you know me better than that. I'm always getting in trouble. You should know that by now." Paul grinned.

"I do know better than that. Like you said you're where I get it from. I'm surprised you've been in the room this long without needing a smoke break." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"You need to stop before you get me in more trouble than usual." Paul scratched the back of his head.

"Unless of course your started spitting your tobacco like my fiancé does." Maddie made a disgusted face.

Rayna took the food out of the bags and got it set up. "Babe, do you want me to cut this up for you or do you think that you can manage?"

"I'm pretty sure that it'll make you feel better to do it for me, so I won't stop ya." Deacon didn't want to admit needing help.

"Mhmm, I'm sure you're just doing it for my benefit." Rayna cut a bite off of his steak. "Open," She ordered him.

Deacon opened his mouth and grinned after she fed him a bite of steak. "Thank you, Ray."

"I just want you to know how much I have to love you to do this for you." Rayna told him.

"I know, baby, and I love you that much too. You know I'd do this for you in a heartbeat. I'm just sorry that you're havin' to do it for me. You shouldn't always have to be taken care of my ass." Deacon apologized.

"Don't you dare apologize, baby. You couldn't help it. Now, shut up and eat your steak." Rayna kissed his head and fed him another bite.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I wanted to get one out to you on Nashville day. The wait is finally over Nashies. Until next time please review.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 29

Rayna shut off the truck engine and walked over to the passenger side to open the door. "Easy now, babe, watch your step gettin' down." She held her hand out to Deacon.

"I hate to ask, but I need both your hands, baby. I can't really brace myself it hurts my chest." Deacon admitted. He would have argued with her and insisted on doing it himself, but he rather not have a shooting pain go through his body.

Rayna gave him her other hand. "Just hold both of my hands and slide out. I didn't even think about you havin' trouble getting in and out of the truck. I shouldn't have picked you up in Betty."

"I'm glad you brought my truck I missed it." Deacon slid out of the truck cautiously.

"Can you walk on your own or do you need to lean against me?" Rayna asked him.

"I can walk on my own, but I'd like to be close to ya. I'm just sorry I can't put my arm around ya." Deacon grinned a little.

"I can fix that." Rayna wrapped her arm around his waist. "Better?"

"Much better. I don't know if I've said it yet, but thank you for everythin' that you've done for me the last few days. I know that this ain't been easy on you." Deacon was making a real effort not to be so crabby.

"You don't have to thank me, but it's nice to hear. I love you and I'd do anythin' for ya." Rayna guided him up the front walk.

"I know that it ain't been easy on ya though. I love you even more now than I did a week ago." Deacon leaned against her.

"I feel that way 'bout you too." Rayna opened the door.

Deacon walked into the house and smiled. All of his children were lined up waiting for him. "Look at ya'll."

"Welcome home, daddy." They said in unison.

"This is the best welcome home that I coulda asked for. Who's got some sugar for their daddy?" Deacon asked.

"Remember what we talked about. You have to be gentle with daddy especially his chest because it's still really sore." Rayna reminded them.

Charlie and Jack both hugged Deacon around the legs solving the problem of how not to hurt his chest.

"There's my Pistol and my Jack Henry." Deacon patted their heads.

Maddie and Daphne lifted the twins up so they could kiss his cheek.

"God, Deac, what have you been eating?" Maddie groaned.

"Nothin' more than usual." Deac retorted.

"It's not just Deac. Jayme Boy is getting heavy too." Daphne put her brother back on his feet.

"I'm a growin' boy." Jayme pointed out to her.

"Ya'll stop fightin' with your brothers and give your daddy some love." Deacon laughed when they each kissed one of his cheeks.

"Where do you wanna go, honey? Do you wanna go to the living room and watch some tv or do you wanna go up to the bedroom?" Rayna asked.

"I would like to sit up and be with the kids for a little while." Deacon answered.

"You're in luck, daddy. We worked hard all morning to get your spot ready for you." Daphne reported.

"I'm the luckiest daddy in the whole world." Deacon let himself soak it all in. There had been a brief moment when he'd thought he was gonna die.

"Let's go in the kitchen and get the surprise that we made for daddy." Maddie and Daphne ushered the kids in the kitchen.

Rayna helped Deacon into the living room. "They really worked hard." She smiled at all the pillows fluffed in his recliner.

"They did good." Deacon held both of her hands and sat down slowly.

"Listen, I know that you're still not really all that hungry, but they made you cupcakes. You have to at least take a bite so you don't hurt their feelings. They really wanna help take care of you and I need you to let them. They missed you so much, baby." Rayna told him while she had him alone. She knew what he was like.

"I can do that. I feel horrible for scarin' them so badly." Deacon agreed. He looked at the table beside his chair and he saw all his favorite westerns stacked up. "They really went all out."

"They did. Their daddy means everythin' to them. While they're busy in the kitchen I wanna have a talk with you. Deacon, I trust you to stay sober and work your program, but I hope you understand that it'll make me feel better to be in control of your pain meds." Rayna stooped down in front of him with her hands on his knees.

Deacon nodded his head thoughtfully. "I understand, baby. I can let you do that. As much as I would like the opportunity to prove to you that I've changed it's more important to me that you're comfortable with this."

Rayna kissed him and rubbed her nose against his. "Thank you, babe. It's time for all of your medication."

"I'd like to hold off on my pain meds for right now. I want to spend some time with my babies." Deacon took her hand and kissed it.

"We can do that." Rayna agreed.

Jack scampered into the room. "Daddy would you like tea or lemonade?"

"I'd really like some lemonade please." Deacon chuckled.

"Ok!" Jack ran back to the kitchen.

"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you got me pregnant with him?" Rayna laughed.

"I'm glad that I got you pregnant with him too. I don't know what we would do without that little boy around here. He's quite the little character." Deacon smiled.

"I think someone decided that I needed him since Charlie is such a daddy's girl." Rayna teased.

"I don't know Henry is kinda an equal opportunity monkey. He can be happy with either of us." Deacon pointed out.

"True, but you know how attached he is to me." Rayna replied.

"I can't deny that." Deacon winked at her.

"Here we are. We didn't mean to keep you waiting." Maddie carried a tray in and sat it on Deacon's table.

"Ya'll are worth the wait every time. What do we have here?" Deacon looked at the tray.

"We have a grilled cheese, two cupcakes, a glass of lemonade and a pitcher to refill it, a bell for you to ring in case you need anything, and your fully charged iPod in case you wanna listen to music." Daphne gave him the run down.

"Ya'll are just too sweet to me. Sit down I wanna just look at ya and spend time with ya." Deacon told them. He picked up his grilled cheese sandwich and took a bite even though he didn't really want it. "That's so good, thank you." It made him want to cry in a good way. Grilled cheese was what he always made them when they were sick, hurt, or having a bad day.

Maddie and Daphne sat on the couch next to his chair. Deac and Jayme sat on the love seat on the other side of him. Jack and Charlie sat down at his feet.

"Maddie, Daphne, I wanna thank ya'll from the bottom of my heart for everythin' that you've done to help your momma out with your brothers and sister while I was in the hospital. You are two of the best daughters that a man could ask for. I'm so incredibly proud of both of you and I love you so much." Deacon praised them.

"We love you and we just wanna see you get better." Daphne told him.

"Daddy, we would do anything for you and mom. All you ever have to do is tell us what you need." Maddie patted his knee. "Well, we'd do anything for you anyway. Mom might be outta favors because of the things that come out of her mouth. I'm appalled that she kisses my brothers and sisters and my beloved daddy with that mouth."

"That's really cute, Madison. You're one to talk about someone's mouth. And as for your beloved daddy please remember that he buys your cars and I pay your rent. Mess with me and you'll be homeless." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Daddy owns a house and a cabin besides this one. He's not gonna let us be homeless." Maddie retorted.

"You can stay at the house in East Nashville whenever you want and use it for whatever you want, but I have to think long and hard 'bout you usin' the cabin." Deacon stepped in.

"And I think you just got told." Daphne snickered.

"That's not nice, dad." Maddie fake pouted.

"The cabin is actually mine. He bought it for me. It just so happens to be his sanctuary." Rayna corrected her.

"He did?" Daphne asked.

"I did buy it for her, but it's mine not hers." Deacon confirmed.

"Who wants to hear the story?" Rayna asked.

All the kids raised their hands.

"I guess that means we owe them a story." Rayna smiled.

"Gather up and put your listenin' ears on." Deacon smiled back at her.

* * *

Nashville, Tennessee 1995

"Deacon, when are you gonna tell me where we're goin'?" Rayna squirmed around the passenger seat of her boyfriend's truck excitedly.

"You'll see when we get there, baby." Deacon reached over and squeezed her knee.

"You're bein' really mean right now." Rayna pouted at him.

"I think you'll rethink that when you see where we're goin'." Deacon looked at her over the top of his sunglasses before turning his eyes back to the road.

"You think so?" Rayna raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah I think so." Deacon grinned pleased with himself.

"I'll be the judge of that." Rayna stared out the window.

Deacon drove for a little while longer before he turned off onto a gravel road. He pulled into a driveway and turned the truck off. "Wait just a minute I'll come help you out." He rushed around to the other side of the truck and opened the door for her.

Rayna took his hand and accepted his help. She giggled when he put his hands over her eyes. "What are you up to?"

"Like I said you'll see in just a minute. Watch your step, baby." Deacon guided her where he wanted her to go.

"You are crazy." Rayna allowed him to lead her around though.

Deacon took his hands from over her eyes and stood there with an expectant smile on his face. "Ok, you can open 'em now."

Rayna opened her eyes and gasped when she saw the cabin. It was absolutely perfect. "Deacon, what is this?"

"This is yours. You just got nominated for your first CMA award and I wanted to do somethin' special for you. I know that you've always wanted a place on the water and I was finally in a position to get it for you." Deacon explained.

"Baby, you didn't have to do this I love it." Rayna gushed.

"It's also a thank you present for rehab. You shouldn't have had to take my drunk ass there to begin with. I know that I've put you through a lot." Deacon replied.

Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. "Baby, you're trying. It's a lifelong battle. You're not always gonna win, but I'll be here as long as you try."

"You wanna see the place?" Deacon asked her.

"I do." Rayna took his head.

Deacon stepped up on the patio and unlocked the door. "Here we are."

"I love these doors and how this whole wall over here is basically one big window that overlooks the water." Rayna looked around.

"See this fireplace. I think it's my favorite thing ever." Deacon's face lit up with boyish smile.

Rayna turned around to face him and her eyes darkened with lust. "You have a thing with fireplaces."

"I do. You wanna see the upstairs?" Deacon bit his lip. He recognized the look on her face.

"No, not right now. I don't think I can make it upstairs." Rayna kissed him. Somehow she managed to get down on the floor and pull him down on top of her.

"I think we oughta work on makin' this fireplace even more of my favorite spot." Deacon pinned her arms over her head and rubbed his beard against her neck.

* * *

"We have a lot of good memories up at the cabin." Rayna looked over at Deacon.

"We wrote a lot of songs in front of that fireplace. Stop and Think, Delta Rose, To the Moon and Back." Deacon listed off.

"Deacon, we didn't write Delta Rose in front of the fireplace." Rayna corrected him.

"Yeah we did." Deacon argued back.

"No, we didn't." Rayna looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"Then where did we write it?" Deacon asked.

Rayna just gave him a look. "Do I really have to say?"

"No you don't have to say. I know what that look means. That's why I said we wrote it in front of the fireplace. We never make it to the bedroom." Deacon gave her a look in return.

"And I never said we wrote it in the bedroom either. I was thinkin' more along the lines of that damn canoe and a certain sandbar." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Oh yeah," Deacon got a goofy grin on his face.

"Should we even sit on the furniture when we go up to the cabin?" Maddie looked between them grossed out.

"Maddie, I'm gonna pretend like I didn't just hear that. The furniture is a much safer bet than the canoe. Nothin' good ever happens when that canoe is involved." Rayna rolled her eyes.

Deacon chuckled a little bit and it brought on a coughing fit. His eyes filled with tears. He searched blindly for his teddy bear.

"Jack, hug daddy he doesn't have his teddy bear. He needs to hug you." Rayna told her son.

"Ok, momma." Jack hurriedly crawled into Deacon's lap.

Deacon wrapped his arms around his son and hugged him to his chest while he coughed.

"Better?" Rayna asked him.

Deacon nodded his head and held tight to Jack as his coughing finally subsided. "Yeah, that helped." He panted. He grabbed a wad of tissues and spit into them. He hurried and folded them up to hide the fact that it was tinged with blood. It was normal, but he didn't want to scare the kids.

"Deac, Jayme, you two need to go out to the truck and get daddy's stuff. He needs his bear for when he coughs." Rayna told her oldest two sons.

Deac and Jayme ran off to do as she said.

"That was a bad one wasn't it?" Rayna rubbed Deacon's back.

"It hurt so bad, baby. I don't know what's worse the pneumonia or the two pieces of my chest gratin' together." Deacon caught his breath.

"I think it's time for your meds. You need to eat the rest of your sandwich." Rayna kissed his head.

"Did I help, daddy?" Jack looked up at him with his big blue eyes. He was wrapped around him like a little monkey.

"You helped daddy so much, monkey boy." Rayna kissed his head and picked up Deacon's glass. She held the straw up to his lips. "Here, get a drink, baby."

Deacon sipped his drink slowly and then he took a deep breath. He wiped the tears away from his eyes. He mustered up a smile when he saw that all the kids were looking at him. "That was really rough. It hurts when I do that."

"Daddy's ok, guys. He's gonna do that it's normal. You have to remember that he's still sick, but he's much better than he was." Rayna smiled at them encouragingly.

"I got daddy's teddy bear." Jayme held up Deacon's bear triumphantly.

"I got his bags and his guitar." Deac dropped those items in the middle of the floor.

"You guys make sure he eats while I go get his medicine ready. He has to eat at least half his sandwich and half of a cupcake." Rayna instructed them before she went into the kitchen.

"Half of a half of my sandwich and a bite of cupcake. That's what I feel like eatin'. Elvis can eat the other half and she never has to know." Deacon bargained with them.

"Just eat what you can." Maddie winked at him conspiratorially.

"Daddy, can we name your bear Waylon?" Jack asked innocently.

Deacon took a small bite of his sandwich. "If you wanna call him Waylon we can call him Waylon."

Jack took Deacon's sandwich from him and held it up to his father's mouth. "You need to take a bigger bite, daddy. Just two more."

Deacon took two bites just to appease him. "There. Can I be done now?" He hid a grin when Jack started eating the rest of it like it was no big deal.

Maddie unwrapped a cupcake for him. "Eat a couple bites of this."

"Fine," Deacon took a couple of bites. "Everyone happy now?"

"I'm surprised that they actually got you to eat that much." Rayna came back into the room.

"They sicked the little one on me. He used the cuteness to his advantage." Deacon grumbled.

Charlie looked up at Deacon from the floor.

"Charlie, you're small enough you can give daddy a hug. You won't hurt him." Rayna could tell by the look on her face that she wanted to be close to her father.

Charlie wrapped her arms around Deacon's mid-section and buried her face in his abs. Her little body shook with silent sobs. "I'm so glad you're home, daddy."

"Pistol, daddy's ok. I know that I scared all of you and I'm so sorry for that, but I'm ok now." Deacon rubbed her back.

"Open up, I have medicine for you." Rayna told him.

Deacon opened his mouth.

"That's your antibiotic, blood thinner, and your pain pill. I think everyone could use a nap right now. It's been a rough few days." Rayna put the pills in his mouth and put the straw to his lips.

Deacon took his medicine without complaint. "I think you're right." He actually agreed with her. "Charlie, get up here with daddy and Henry. You're both little enough that I can cuddle you."

Rayna sat down in the middle of the love seat and waved the twins over. "Come here my two, love bugs. We are all gonna take a little nap together as a family." She put her arms around them.

"I'm not gonna argue with that either." Maddie turned the tv on.

"You won't get any complaints outta me." Daphne leaned back on the couch.

* * *

Deacon sat on top of the toilet seat bare chested. "Babe, what are you doin'?"

Rayna had cut a piece of plastic wrap and several strips of medical tape. She had her hair pulled into a messy ponytail and she was wearing a pair of short pajama shorts and a t-shirt cut down the middle. "I am workin' on covering up your incision site so I can help you take a bath. I love you, but you need to wash all that hospital funk off of you." She put the piece of plastic wrap over his incision and taped it down.

"I'm not really supposed to be standin' for a long time right now. It'll be so damn nice to get that hospital stank off me though." Deacon reminded her.

"I'm aware of that. That's why I got you a shower chair. I plan on bathing you the way I bathe the dog. I'm gonna take the shower head off the hook." Rayna explained to him.

"I wasn't aware you bathed the dog. To hear you tell it you hate the dog." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"I don't hate the dog. The dog has grown on me. Stand up and let me help you take off your pants." Rayna retorted.

Deacon stood with a little bit of effort and braced his hands on her shoulders. "It's a damn good thing you've already seen every part of me."

"Darlin', if I hadn't before after this week I can say for a fact that I have for sure. I even had to hold the part of you that makes you a man while you peed. I haven't had to do that since the boys were potty trainin'." Rayna pulled his sweats and boxers down.

"That's how I know I have the best wife in the world." Deacon grinned at her.

"Step into the shower. I wish that I was undressing you for sexier reasons." Rayna helped him into the shower stall.

Deacon sat down on the shower chair. "I wish you were too. I'm sorry." He looked down at the floor.

"You don't have to be sorry. I know you much rather be havin' shower sex. Baby, you can't help this. You are my young virile stud you will be back in fightin' shape in no time." Rayna took the shower head off the wall and turned the water on.

"You better believe I will be. I know that it's been a really long time for us." Deacon replied.

"Do you wash your hair or body first?" Rayna asked him. She had to change the subject. If she thought about sex with him too much she was just going to want it and he was in no way healed enough for it.

"I like to wash my body first." Deacon told her.

Rayna sprayed him with the shower head and then lathered up a rag with his body wash. She washed him all over paying special attention to the area around his incision that wasn't covered with the plastic wrap. She washed his legs for him so he didn't bust his head open trying to do that. She hesitated for a moment when she got to his penis, but she went on and washed that for him too. "Damn, babe, it really has been a long time."

"Yeah, I know. Looks like you're outta luck though you've been touchin' me for a while and nothin' is happenin'." Deacon groaned.

"Lean your head back and let me wash your hair." Rayna wet his hair down. "Baby, you're still runnin' a fever and you just had surgery. That is totally normal especially with the fever. It doesn't mean that there is anythin' wrong with your equipment."

"I know, it's just normally if you touch my dick I'm hard as a rock." Deacon leaned his head back.

"Truthfully, hon, I'm tried anyway and I don't want to. Your body just went through a lot of trauma. It's gonna take a minute to get back to normal. When your fever breaks I'm sure you'll be better than normal." Rayna lied to him about how badly she wanted him. She lathered up the shampoo in his hair and drug her nails across his scalp lightly.

Deacon sighed in contentment. That really felt good. "I guess it's a damn good thing that you have that vibrator since you gotta be waitin' for my soldier to stand at attention."

Rayna wisely chose not to engage with him over that at the moment. With the mood he was in it wouldn't do either of them any good and they would only end up arguing.

"Alright, here's your pillow, a blanket, enough pain meds to last you all night, the remote, and Waylon. I'm gonna be asleep as soon as my head hits that pillow, but if you need anythin' at all you wake me up." Rayna got Deacon all set up in his recliner after she got him out of the shower.

"Ok, Ray, thank you." Deacon smiled up at her.

"You're so welcome, babe. I love you, sleep as well as you can. Welcome home." Rayna pecked his lips.

"I love you too. You're the best wife." Deacon stole one more kiss from her.

Rayna crawled into bed and tossed and turned for a minute. She thought for sure she wouldn't have any trouble getting to sleep. It dawned on her what the problem was. She was alone in the bed. She never slept alone. Even if she was on the road alone she had to have a bed full of pillows.

"Deac, Jayme, Charlie, Henry!" Deacon yelled out. He could hear Rayna tossing and turning and knew what the problem was. Four sets of feet hit the hardwood floors and made a beeline for their bedroom. "They're on their way."

"How'd you know?" Rayna laughed softly.

"I have the same problem. I sleep with them when you're not here too. That bed is too big to sleep in alone." Deacon replied.

Jack was the first one to dive into bed with Rayna. Jayme followed close behind him.

"Daddy, would it maybe be ok if slept in the chair with you?" Deac asked.

"Come on and climb up. Momma got an extra big roomy chair." Deacon wasn't about to tell him no even though he knew it was going to hurt like hell.

"Me too, daddy?" Charlie asked.

"You too, Pistol." Deacon smiled. "Outlaw, you work the remote and turn somethin' good on. Pistol, you flip the lights off."

Both children did as he instructed.

"This is more like it." Rayna cuddled Jack and Jayme.

"This is perfect." Deacon agreed. He was so happy to be home where he belonged.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I didn't think ya'll would mind if I took a detour into some family time light fluffy cuteness before getting back to the meat of the story. Until next time please review.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 30

"Deacon, wake up, sleepyhead." Rayna woke Deacon up with a soft kiss on his lips.

Deacon groaned a little bit and a smile came to his face. "Mornin', baby."

"You actually got some decent sleep last night. I feel bad about havin' to wake you, but I really have to go into the office." Rayna was dressed for work.

"Of course, babe. You've been out with me long enough. Go into work and run your business." Deacon replied.

"The big kids are at school and Jack is having a day with his mawmaw. Here's the thing there is no way that you can be on your own yet, so I have a surprise for you." Rayna kissed his cheek. "Get on in here, child."

Maddie came into the room. "We are having a Maddie and daddy day."

"Ray, I can look after myself. Please don't leave me alone with her." Deacon joked.

"Deacon, be nice. Your daughter loves you and just wants to spend time with you." Rayna grabbed a bottle of pills and handed them to Maddie. "These are his pain pills. He will try to be a hero and not take them at all. You'll know when he needs one. If he looks like he's really in pain give him two."

"Ok, whatever you say." Maddie nodded her head.

"He is also gonna need his antibiotics and his blood thinners after he has breakfast." Rayna explained.

"I will give them to him." Maddie promised.

"He's right here and he can hear you. He is capable of takin' his own medications." Deacon grumbled.

"If you weren't so stubborn about takin' your medicine I'd agree with you, but I know how you are. Therefore, I have to tell our daughter what you need." Rayna gave him a look.

"Whatever you say, babe." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"I can see that he's gonna be in a wonderful mood today." Maddie quipped.

"And he is all yours for the next few hours. Go easy on him. I'm just gonna pray that when I come home there's no crime scene tape across the front door. If either of you feels like the other is gettin' to be too much for you then go to your separate corners to cool off." Rayna advised them.

"Mom, we've been alone together many times before we can handle it." Maddie assured her.

"Yeah, it's not like I can strangle the life outta her." Deacon sort of shrugged his shoulders.

"Maddie, you need to make him breakfast. Or at the very least order something. You're very good at that. I have to go right now. I'm gonna be so late." Rayna pecked Deacon's lips and kissed Maddie's cheek. "I love you both, see you later." She rushed out.

"Do you need any help up?" Maddie asked him.

"No I don't need any help." Deacon got up slowly.

"You are so stubborn. Is it time for your pain pills?" Maddie held his arm to help steady him.

"Not yet. I just have to use the bathroom. I'll meet you downstairs." Deacon ran a hand across the thick stubble on his chin.

"I'll see you down there, daddy. Yell if you need me." Maddie was reluctant to leave him alone, but she knew that he had to do as much as he could for himself.

"Will do, kiddo." Deacon replied.

Maddie headed down to the kitchen.

Deacon joined her a few minutes later. "You really don't have to stick around here today if you don't want to."

"Dad, we both know that I don't have an option on that one. Mom asked me to look after you and I have to do that whether either of us wants that or not." Maddie pointed out to him.

"I know that. I really do know that. I know your mother better than you could ever hope to. She laid down the law and now we have to abide by it. What do you wanna do for breakfast?" Deacon replied.

"What do you want?" Maddie asked. She knew that he had no appetite still.

"I don't really want anythin'. You can pick and I'll find somethin' that I feel like I can choke down." Deacon sat down at the counter.

"I'll order from your favorite place and I'll get your favorites. Hash browns, biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs, toast, French toast?" Maddie tried to tempt him.

"Yeah, that sounds good or at least like I could choke some of that down. And order some of the good coffee for us." Deacon added.

"That sounds amazing. Can we charge it on mom's card?" Maddie grinned.

"Hell yes we can charge this on your momma's card. Put in the order." Deacon laughed and winked at her.

Maddie ordered their food and then sat down next to him. "Done and done."

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Deacon asked her.

Maddie grabbed a binder off the end of the counter and slid it down in front of him. "You are gonna help me pick out my wedding invitations. Jimmy doesn't care. I mean he literally doesn't give a damn. He used those words. So now, you get to help me. Pick your poison."

Deacon opened the binder and started to flip through it. "Alright, what look do we wanna go for? Personally I say we cut out the floral patterns or anythin' too frilly. We want a casual yet classy feel. We don't want it to seem like some Junior League southern belle crap."

"You've given this a lot of thought have you, daddy?" Maddie laughed.

"I live with many women. I've learned a thing or two over the years. No glitter, no sequins, no lace. Just because this is Cinderella's fairytale weddin' we don't want it lookin' like Tinker Bell threw up on the invitations." Deacon gave her a look.

"Dad, maybe a little lace around the edges of the invitations would be cute." Maddie pointed to one.

"That one looks like a damn doily. You can't send those out to people. It looks like they were made to wipe your ass on or somethin'." Deacon gave her a look.

"Dad, you are horrible. I can't believe that I'm even trying to have this conversation with you." Maddie covered her face with her hand.

"Forget this book this book is the usual it's ordinary. What you need is somethin' custom. What's your song?" Deacon grabbed a pen and piece of paper. He drew lines on it.

"What do you mean by that?" Maddie asked.

"I mean what's your song? Every couple has a song that is their song." Deacon explained.

"The End of the Day. That's our song." Maddie smiled.

Deacon drew music notes on the lines. "You print the chorus on the background of the invitations. You can print the words over it. It should be somethin' like Mr. And Mrs. Deacon John Claybourne request the honor of your presence at the weddin' of their daughter Madison Miranda Claybourne to Mr. James Clay Grayson son of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Vincent Grayson. On the Tenth of June. Or whenever the hell you two are gettin' married."

"You're really good at this, dad. I really love that idea." Maddie looked at him shocked.

"I know a thing or two 'bout a thing or two." Deacon grinned.

* * *

Avery walked into Highway 65 with his bag thrown over his shoulder. "Bucky, I have an appointment with Rayna. Is she in her office?"

"She's in there. Go right in she's expecting you." Bucky replied.

"Thanks, Buck, I appreciate it." Avery ducked into Rayna's office.

"Hey, Avery, thanks for comin' in." Rayna looked up from her computer screen.

"What did you want to see me about?" Avery asked.

"I just wanted to touch base with you about Sadie's album." Rayna replied.

"We are making progress slowly, but surly. I don't book studio time until I know we are ready to put something down on track. She has a bad case of writer's block. We are working through it as best we can." Avery told her.

"That's no problem at all. Ya'll just take your time and get it right. I'm in no rush here. Have you had any thoughts at all about your new album?" Rayna changed the subject.

"I have a few songs down that I think are ready to go. If you need me to I can get into the studio." Avery answered.

"That's up to you. Again I want quality not quantity. I'm not a hard boss to please. Hell these days I'm not hard to please if I can a conversation with someone that's halfway pleasant." Rayna retorted.

"Deacon not being the ideal patient?" Avery chuckled.

Rayna arched her eyebrow and gave him a look. "That's one way to put it."

"Let me know when he's feeling up to it and I will come over to do some writing with him. Keep him occupied and take him off your hands for a little while." Avery offered.

"That sounds amazing. I love that man, but he is on my nerves so bad right now. I know that he can't help it, but I really kinda want to kill him a little bit." Rayna replied gratefully.

"I know that feeling all too well. Except Juliette is like that all the time." Avery grumbled.

"I feel for you. I don't know how you deal with her every day. You deserve a medal." Rayna laughed.

"I don't know how some days either. That middle child is just like her mother. I'm in a whole lotta trouble." Avery laughed with her.

"And I know that feelin'. I have a couple of kids that are just like their father. They got the traits that I find adorable and the ones that make me want to kill him." Rayna agreed with him.

"And at first you think it'll be great. Here's this little person who is just like the person that I love so much. Then you realize they got the annoying traits of the person you love too." Avery crossed his legs.

"Then you realize that it's twice as annoying coming from this little person who also has your undesirable traits. He's hardheaded and I'm stubborn. What do you think our kids are like when they aren't on their best behavior?" Rayna groaned.

"Right? And then you're like we have to be the two most annoying people on the face of the earth." Avery countered.

Rayna looked at her computer, then at Avery, and then back. "Avery, do you wanna go day drinking with me? I feel like goin' day drinkin'."

"Yeah, let's go day drinking. The kids are at school and Juliette is in the studio." Avery agreed.

"Tootsies ok with you?" Rayna asked.

"Sounds perfect." Avery nodded his head.

"Bucky!" Rayna called out.

Bucky stuck his head in the door. "You rang?"

"Avery and I are takin' this meeting off site. You're in charge for the rest of the day. Don't let your wife bully you into doin' what she says." Rayna told him.

"I've got you covered, Ray." Bucky assured her.

"Everyone knows that you and Tandy do the real work around here anyway." Rayna winked at him.

"I'm not even gonna ask what you're really doing. I'm just going to hold down the fort." Bucky shook his head.

"Thank you, Buck, I love you." Rayna grinned at him.

"Mhmm, love you too." Bucky walked away.

"Wanna go on a bar crawl?" Avery asked.

"You are so on." Rayna jumped at that.

"Let's start at the Mile Marker." Avery suggested.

"Oh hell yeah." Rayna high fived him.

"Look at this here comes the boss's wife." Riff said from behind the bar. Since Beverly had taken off on the road with Frankie and June was really too old to handle things anymore he was the manager now.

"Riff, shut up and give us some shots. You know what to do." Rayna sat down on a barstool.

"You're in a mood. Did Deac's equipment break when he had surgery?" Riff sat two shot glasses on the bar and poured whiskey in them.

"First of all don't call him that when you're referring to his equipment. That is what we call our son. Secondly don't refer to his equipment in front of Avery he's like a son to us. And third of all you know how Deacon gets when he's sick." Rayna picked up her shot.

"Avery, what's your deal?" Riff asked.

"When the boss asks me to go day drinking I don't turn her down." Avery replied.

"Do you just want me to leave the bottle?" Riff inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Leave the bottle and bring me a real glass." Rayna replied. She held her shot glass up to Avery.

"Cheers," Avery clicked his glass against hers.

Riff brought two glasses over and sat them on the bar. "Just let me know if I need to get ya'll a ride home."

* * *

"Joel, what are we doing here?" Daphne looked around the stadium where he played football.

"I thought that you might like a tour. I know that you've probably played here before or whatever, but you've never experienced it like a football player." Joel took her hand.

"You didn't just seriously say that you want me to experience this like a football player. I've got news for you. I'm a girl, pal. My football playing is limited to the two games a year that my dad makes us play on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve." Daphne told him.

"Oh yeah, I'm just gonna force ya to put on pads and do a warm up like we do." Joel rolled his eyes playfully.

"With you I never know. You just get all kinda crazy ideas in your head." Daphne laughed at him.

"Come on, I'll show you the field." Joel led her out to the field.

"This is just so exciting." Daphne quipped sarcastically.

"Don't be a smartass." Joel grinned. He went over to the sidelines and grabbed a bin full of footballs.

"What are you doing?" Daphne watched him.

"I am gonna show you how to throw the perfect spiral." Joel picked up a football.

"Just in case I ever need that skill to impress someone one day?" Daphne teased him.

"That's exactly why I'm gonna show you." Joel took the ball and put his fingers on the laces. "Now, what you're gonna do is take your fingers and fit them in the laces. Then you're gonna wanna bring the ball up, keep your elbow tucked in, and put your weight behind it when you throw." He showed her what he meant. He let the ball fly seventy yards down the field.

"That was pretty damn impressive. You have a great arm. Maybe you should consider going pro." Daphne put her hands on his chest.

"I'll have to take that into consideration. It's your turn." Joel handed her another football.

Daphne took the ball from him and put her fingers on the laces. "Like this?"

Joel stepped up behind her and helped her. "Like this. Try to throw it."

Daphne threw the ball. "I guess I better not quit my day job."

"We are gonna do this until you can't get it wrong. I won't let you just give up. That says somethin' 'bout my teachin' skills." Joel replied.

"I guess I can't have you fail as a teacher your first time out." Daphne gave him a flirty smile.

"Let's try this again." Joel handed her another ball.

Daphne threw the ball again.

"That's much better. Try it with a receiver this time." Joel told her.

"You have no one, but yourself to blame if I suck at this." Daphne grabbed another ball.

Joel lined up like a receiver. "Set, hike." He yelled and he ran a short route.

Daphne threw him the ball and he had to extend himself to catch it.

They ran through the same play a few more times before she finally threw a decent pass.

"There we go that's a solid ten yard gain." Joel clapped his hands and jogged back to where she stood.

Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're a really great coach."

"Yeah? You think so?" Joel put his hands on her hips and smiled down at her.

Daphne nodded her head. "I think so." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Joel pulled her to him closer and kissed her deeper.

"You're also very nice to look at." Daphne mumbled against his lips.

"Right back at ya." Joel grinned.

Daphne kissed him again.

Joel groaned and then he laughed. "Is that your damn phone?"

"It is and it's my damn mom calling." Daphne brushed her nose against his.

"You better answer it then. I wouldn't want you ignorin' your momma's phone calls on account of me." Joel kept her tight to his body.

"Let me just answer that then." Daphne made no move to answer her phone.

"I'll let you get to that." Joel captured her lips with his.

Daphne laughed when her phone started ringing again. "I really do have to answer that. When she calls that many times she needs something." She pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "Hello?" She answered the phone. She nodded along to what her mother was saying. "Yeah, I'll take care of it. No problem. I love you too." She hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Joel asked her.

"If you are so inclined you get to come with me to pick my brothers and sister up from school. You officially get to meet the terrors. I think it's about time to get that outta the way." Daphne answered him.

"I would like that. I already met your older sister. It's 'bout time that I met your younger siblings." Joel replied.

"I'm sorry about this. I know that we keep getting interrupted. If you can do dinner with me tonight I would really like to make it up to you." Daphne wrapped her arms around him again.

"I would love to do dinner with you tonight. I have absolutely nothin' better to do. Not only that, but I wouldn't wanna do anythin' else." Joel rubbed his nose against hers.

"I wouldn't wanna do anythin' else either." Daphne kissed him again.

* * *

"Hi, honey," Rayna came into the bedroom and started kissing on Deacon's neck while he sat in the recliner.

"Hey, babe." Deacon laid his book down on the table beside his chair.

"I see that you by some miracle got everyone in their own beds tonight." Rayna kicked her shoes off and started to change into her pajamas.

"I did. Big sister number one even stayed and helped me do bed time and tuck ins. Where have you been?" Deacon replied.

Rayna pulled her t-shirt on. "That was really sweet of her. I was just out and about takin' care of some things." She crawled into the recliner next to him and curled into his side.

"I had a really productive day today. I helped Maddie pick out her weddin' invitations. I'm sorry if that's somethin' you wanted to do with her. I probably shoulda waited, but we got to talkin' and we came up with somethin' that she really liked." Deacon rambled a little bit.

"That is so sweet. I really love that you two did that together. I like it when you make memories like that together. There's still an overabundance of things for me to do with her. I think I can let you have the invitations." Rayna smiled big and ran her fingers through his hair.

Deacon leaned over and kissed her. "I think I just figured out what things you've been takin' care of. Girl, you are a hundred proof right now. If I had to guess I'd say that you drank your lunch and dinner."

"I drank lunch, but Riff was no fun and he actually made me eat somethin' when Avery and I made it back to the Mile Marker for dinner." Rayna replied.

"You drank your lunch with Avery?" Deacon laughed.

"I did he volunteered to go day drinkin' with me and we had fun. I was just a little stressed and I needed to escape for a few hours. I'm still a little stressed, but I know what could take care of that." Rayna rubbed his inner thigh.

"Is that so?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"That's so, baby." Rayna slipped her hand into his pants.

"Ray, I'm in a lot of pain. I don't know if I can." Deacon wasn't sure that he could perform the way that she wanted him to at the moment.

"You're really in so much pain that you don't wanna do what we do best together?" Rayna started to stroke him slowly.

"Baby, I just took a pain pill. I'm not even sure how much longer I'm gonna be able to stay awake. More than I think it'll hurt I'm afraid that I'll disappoint you." Deacon answered.

"Are you sure 'bout that?" Rayna kissed on his neck.

"As much as I hate to turn you down when you're in this mood I'm gonna have to. I'm real sorry 'bout that. Believe me I want to. I think you can feel how much I want to. I just don't want this to be a painful experience for either of us." Deacon groaned.

"It's ok, babe. I understand. I much rather just sit here with you and watch tv or somethin' anyway. I'm just thankful that you're still here." Rayna wrapped herself around him.

Deacon rubbed her arm and kissed her hand. "I'm real thankful that I'm still here with you too."

Rayna buried her face in his neck. "I love you, babe."

"I love you too, baby." Deacon relaxed against her.

Rayna picked up the remote and turned on the tv. "Oh, look they are runnin' a western marathon. I'm sure that you can stay up long enough to watch some of it."

"I do love my westerns." Deacon grinned.

"I'm well aware of that." Rayna chuckled and then she yawned.

Deacon patted his shoulder. "You just lay your pretty little head right there and we can fall asleep together. I miss sleepin' with you."

"I miss sleepin' with you too, babe." Rayna kissed his cheek and closed her eyes.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 31

"Well, look who is finally back in my bed." Rayna woke up in the middle of the night to Deacon climbing in bed with her.

"I can't take that chair I wanna be in a bed again. If I sleep in that chair anymore my back is gonna revolt." Deacon tried to get comfortable.

Rayna rolled over and snuggled against him. "You know those kids are gonna be sound asleep for a few more hours. I could stand to lose a few hours of sleep if you could."

"Baby, I know how bad you want to. I want it too, but I'm just not ready yet. Movin' my arms hurts somethin' terrible. If you so much as put your hand on my chest I wanna jump outta my skin. I don't just wanna lay here like a zombie and have it seem like a chore." Deacon explained to her.

"Babe, at this point I'm so desperate I don't care if you just lay there like a zombie." Rayna groaned.

"Ray, more than anythin' you know that I hate to disappoint you. It's not that I can't get it up or that I don't want to. It's that it's not gonna be fun for me and it's not gonna feel good." Deacon frowned a little.

Rayna put her hands over her face. "I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to stand this. Not only do I want you badly I have the female version of blue balls."

"If you need it that badly I'm pretty sure that you have a vibrator in your nightstand that you use when you wanna get off without me involved." Deacon quipped.

"Don't be a dick. If you wouldn't have been a bitch about it. I would have let you watch me use it." Rayna rolled over so that her back was to him, but she still kept her feet tangled up with his. She wasn't mad at him per se she was just disappointed. This was a long dry spell for them.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"I don't give a damn I'm not gonna pay you for somethin' until it's delivered. I'm not payin' for somethin' that I don't have yet. You know how it works in this business. I've been dealin' with you for two weeks tryin' to get this delivered to my office. I understand that you normally deal with my husband when it comes to this, but he's out on medical leave right now. Just get me an ETA and I will see about getting you paid." Rayna slammed the phone down on the cradle. Her day had only gotten worse since Deacon had turned down her overtures of sex yet again.

"Was that the business card vendor?" Tandy paid absolutely no attention to her sister's temper tantrum.

"How'd you know?" Rayna leaned back in her chair.

"The business card vendor is a pain in the ass to deal with and that's why I let Deacon handle it. He has a way with them. He is useful every now and then." Tandy replied. "So, you ready for lunch?"

"We have a lunch appointment?" Rayna moved things out of the way to check her calendar.

"Yes and you've known about it. We need to plan your sons' birthday party." Tandy reminded her.

"They are older and easier to please now. All we need to do is send out the damn invitations and make sure that they have cake and food. Then I have to hear about why does Deac's name always come first. Well Jayme because he's older and that's just easier on your poor momma." Rayna groaned loudly.

"Ok, what's up with you? You seem super stressed out and tense." Tandy asked her.

Before Rayna got a chance to answer that Hailey stuck her head in the door.

"I haven't seen your husband in weeks and I have no clue where he is." Rayna said before she could say anything.

"I'm not lookin' for Max. I'm here to see you. Technically Maddie is my client, but you're the one payin' my retainer fee, so I thought I'd talk to you first. It's literally gonna cost you more to keep me on retainer than it will to just pay her. As much as I hate to give that bitch anythin' it'll be easier on everyone." Hailey explained.

"I'll pay your damn retainer fee." Tandy volunteered.

"What Tandy said. I rather be out the money for the retainer fee than pay her a penny. Though I guess I don't still want this draggin' on when those two get married. As much as I hate to do it just pay her to go away." Rayna sighed.

"I'll tell you what. Let me try one more thing and if nothin' comes of it I'll just go ahead and settle out of court." Hailey replied.

"That sounds good to me." Rayna nodded her head.

"You sound really stressed and tired. Is Deacon bein' as difficult as I think he is?" Hailey asked her.

"He's bein' Deacon that's for sure, but it's not just that. He's my partner in every sense of the word. I'm havin' to do the things that he normally does along with everythin' that I do. He takes the kids to school and takes care of the domestic stuff. You're gonna have a really hard time believing this about my husband of all people, but he doesn't wanna have sex right now. So, if I seem stressed and tense that's why." Rayna put her hands over her face.

"With you and Deacon I'm really surprised that you weren't on each other the minute he got out of the hospital." Tandy had a shocked look on her face.

"I know." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"After Max had his heart attack it took him a while to get back in the saddle. He also had to have emergency bypass surgery. He could barely take a blanket laying on his chest for weeks. That's how bad it hurt him. He also had a few circulation problems if you get my drift. He'd kill me if he knew that I was tellin' you that." Hailey replied.

"That happens to all men over forty at least once anyway." Tandy mused.

"It doesn't happen to my man. We both have the sex drives of teenagers anyway. It's about to kill me and I feel horrible, because never once after I had a baby did he pressure me to have sex before I was ready." Rayna groaned.

"That's what long baths were invented for. You just take a bottle of wine into the bathroom with you and lock the door. You tell him to keep an eye on the kids for an hour and you do what you have to do. I don't think you need me to spell it out for you." Hailey winked at her.

"No, I'm well versed in the lesson that you're tryin' to teach. My first husband was very vanilla. His idea of spicing things up was keepin' the lights on. And quite frankly he didn't always get the job done." Rayna replied.

"My first husband got the job done he just got it done with everyone in town, but me. Of course that's also what I get for marrying a man my daddy introduced me to." Tandy shook her head.

"Anyway I can have Max go over there and entertain him if you need me to. He's his bandleader after all he should have to deal with him." Hailey offered.

"I'll take you up on that offer." Rayna agreed.

"How's the weddin' plannin' comin'?" Hailey asked.

"It's back on track now after that little detour to deal with Deacon's health crisis. I got their engagement pictures back and they are really good. Those two could have done them in pajamas and they'd look good though. They just have to pick one of those for their save the date. Deacon of all people designed their invitations. I'd been tryin' for a week to get her to pick somethin'. I think he sat down with her for fifteen minutes and had her nailed down to somethin'." Rayna answered.

"You know to let me know if you need my help. Momma said to tell you that her and daddy are payin' for the booze and she's not gonna hear any arguments from you." Hailey told her while she was thinking about it.

"I'll talk to her about it. I still have to talk to caterers and florists. That's gonna be so much fun with those two. But, I don't have to do much to the ranch to get it ready and that's the upside." Rayna replied.

"Babe, I hate to put one more thing on your plate, but you know what's coming up don't you?" Tandy asked her.

"I do know and I have to do the set list. Hailey, I'm glad you're here. I need to borrow Max next month. It's the twentieth anniversary of my opry induction we have to play a concert." Rayna hated to say the number, because it gave away her age.

"Wow, I don't know how you do so much." Hailey marveled.

"Sometimes neither do I. And then to add to everythin' else it's the tenth anniversary of Deacon's induction into the Opry. I also have to plan a party for two ten year olds. That's my life from now until June. And I forgot that we are releasing a special edition of About a Girl because it's the tenth anniversary." Rayna listed off.

"On second thought you may want to take a bottle of whiskey into the bathroom with you. And I will take care of this Cash thing. I don't want you to worry about it." Hailey reassured her.

"Thanks, Hailey." Rayna smiled gratefully.

* * *

Rhett opened the front door of his house. "Hey, Paul, come on in. You didn't have any trouble findin' the place did you?"

Paul carried his guitar case in the house. "No I found it alright. I got a few strange looks because of the pickup truck though."

"I get those same looks all the time. I think that's why Deacon moved outta Belle Meade. I'll just take you to the music room." Rhett replied.

"DJ suggested that I come over and give Timmy his guitar lesson so he doesn't get too far behind. I hope you don't mind." Paul told him.

"He ran it by me first. I don't mind. For whatever reason my kids love you. He's in here waitin' on ya." Rhett led him into the music room.

"Hi, Pa!" Timmy sat on the couch with his guitar in his lap.

"Hey, Timmy. You ready for your lesson? Your Uncle Deacon told me what you can handle and I think that we are gonna have fun together." Paul sat down and took his guitar out of the case.

"I'm ready, Pa. Thanks for comin' over and doin' this." Timmy smiled.

"You're welcome. I can't think of anythin' else I rather do." Paul reached over and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Sadie is in the kitchen bakin' for fun. I know that you like your sweets, Paul. I'll bring you some stuff in here." Rhett said after he watched them for a moment.

"That sounds real good, thanks, Rhett." Paul replied.

Rhett walked into the kitchen and leaned up against the counter. He ran his hands over his face and sighed.

Sadie was bent over putting a batch of cookies in the oven. She walked over and put her arms around his waist. "I was bent over and you didn't try anythin' with me. There must be somethin' on your mind."

"Why does havin' that man in this house and around those kids unnerve me so much?" Rhett put his hands on her shoulders.

"Because you don't really know him. You know who he was with your brother and sister. You know who he was with June, but you don't know him. You know parts of him." Sadie replied.

"I don't understand what my mother ever saw in him. She was a smart woman. She was a paralegal. She sure as hell wasn't so dumb the only choice she had was to carry on with a married man that much older than her. I think she was only five years older than Beverly. Whatever it is she saw in him I don't see it." Rhett went off on a rant.

"I can see part of it. Even for an older man Paul is very nice lookin'. You're gonna look just like that when you're his age. Like you said your momma was a smart woman. There had to be somethin' about him she saw that we just can't see." Sadie rubbed his back.

"I don't know what it was, but then again I don't know what you see in me either." Rhett made a weak joke.

"You're gonna laugh, because this sounds so corny, but you have a beautiful soul. You have the heart and soul of a poet. And you're pretty easy on the eyes. That helps your case." Sadie brushed her nose against his.

"That's why I married you. You are pretty smart." Rhett leaned down and kissed her.

"Someone had to be able to handle you." Sadie teased.

"Why is it so quiet in here? Where are those monsters?" Rhett had a confused look on his face.

"You really don't pay much attention when I talk. Gracie Rose is at Scarlett's and Wyatt is at Will's. There was no way in hell that Paul was gonna be able to get through a guitar lesson with them here." Sadie chuckled.

"You know; they are gonna be occupied in there for a while. You and I could sneak upstairs for some alone time." Rhett started walking backwards taking her with him.

"I don't think so. I'm baking. I'm trying to get rid of my writer's block." Sadie argued with him.

"Fine, ruin all my fun." The corners of his eyes crinkled up in laughter.

"I however wouldn't be opposed to sittin' up on this counter and makin' out with you." Sadie suggested.

"I'm not gonna argue with that." Rhett lifted her up on the counter like she weighed nothing.

Sadie went to check on Paul and Timmy an hour later. She stood in the doorway for a minute and listened to the song that Paul was playing. She'd never heard it before it must have been something that he'd written himself. She waited until he'd finished to make her presence known. "For a minute there I thought I was at the Blue Bird or the Mile Marker. I had to look around and make sure I was at home. That sounded really good, Paul."

"Thank you," Paul smiled back.

Sadie brought a tray of cookies in and sat them down. "I just made those they are still warm. Timmy, go wash your hands and I will pretend that I don't know that you ate more of than you're supposed to."

"Ok, momma." Timmy ran off to wash his hands.

Sadie laughed. "How's he doin'?"

"He's playin' like he's a Claybourne or somethin'. It sounds like he was born with a guitar in his hands. That could be 'cause his uncle is his normal guitar teacher and he's one of the best I've ever heard." Paul reported.

"That really was a damn good song, Paul." Sadie replied.

"That was just somethin' I've been messin' 'round with. The kids are a good audience to try my new stuff out on. They think it's great no matter what I play for 'em." Paul laid his guitar down in the case.

"I wish I could get any kind of song out right now. I have writer's block so bad I don't know what to do with myself." Sadie sighed a little.

"I've been through that a time or two in my life too. A bender and a woman or two was always enough to clear that up. With Rose I never needed the bender though. She just brought somethin' out in me. She saw a better man in me than I was willin' to be. I had two good women that believed in me and I didn't do right by either of 'em. Rose was full of hellfire and brimstone though. She kicked my ass to the curb when she found out I was married. Told me she was pregnant, but she'd be ok no matter what I decided to do. We both know what I ended up doin', but I was shocked no one talked to me like that ever. I'll be damned if I didn't respect her for it." Paul rambled.

"She meant something to you didn't she?" Sadie asked him.

"She did I'd had other women while I was married, but none of them lasted long. I got bored with 'em. Rose Baker wasn't like any other woman I'd ever met before. As a songwriter she brought out the absolute best in me. I guess I was just a way to rebel against her father. No I won't disrespect her like that. She loved me and I know she did. I thought hey I could start over, but I couldn't leave. You may not believe me when I say this, but I couldn't do that to June. Everythin' I put her through she still stuck by me. And there was Bev and Scarlett. I loved that little girl and I didn't want her to wake up and me not be there." The regret poured off Paul as he spoke.

"But, did you love her?" Rhett's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I did love her. I just didn't love her the way I loved June. I know you won't believe this either, but I'll die lovin' June. I tried to go back to your momma when you were 'bout a year old, but she wouldn't have me. I did what I did best then. I hadn't laid a hand on my wife in nine years, but I got drunk and I went home and I made the last time count. Rose knew exactly what I was and she didn't want me 'round you. I don't blame her for that one bit. She did to me what June should have. Told me if I didn't get my drunk ass off her doorstep she'd call the police on me. That I wasn't fit to be 'round you." Paul answered him.

"She never once spoke a bad word 'bout you to me. That woman had more grace in her little finger than I have in my whole body. You didn't deserve her, but that's ok 'cause I didn't either. I just got lucky as hell to have a momma like her. I guess I'm just glad to know she wasn't just the Sally Hemmings to your Thomas Jefferson." Rhett's eyes filled with tears. "Sadie, he's a good songwriter you should see if he'll work with you." He excused himself quickly.

"If I were still a violent person I'd knock the hell outta him the next time he says that Thomas Jefferson Sally Hemmings crap to me." Paul shook his head.

"You're a Claybourne you still have a bad temper. I halfway wish you two would beat the hell outta each other and start to find some common ground." Sadie gave him a look. "Do you wanna help me write my next album?"

"Does it look like I have anythin' else to do? I'll help ya." Paul agreed easily.

"Thanks, we can start on Monday." Sadie offered him her hand.

"Put that damn thing away. We're family." Paul smiled charmingly.

"Yeah, now I see how you got so many women." Sadie laughed.

* * *

Rayna sat in the bathtub with bubbles up to her neck. She had oldies country playing softly in the background. She reached over and grabbed her glass of wine off the ledge. She sighed in contentment. She had to hand it to Hailey this had been a damn good idea. She loved her kids and her husband, but she needed some alone time without them every once in a while.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She was horny anyway and the fact that she was on her third glass of wine didn't help matters at all. She lazily traced her finger around both of her nipples before she slid her hand down her body. She spread her legs slightly and started to play with her clit. She moaned lowly. That felt so damn good. It had been entirely too long since that part of her had been touched.

She slowly slid a finger inside herself and she moaned louder. She started to pump her finger in and out while she rubbed her clit. It didn't take her long at all to reach the edge. It wouldn't take much more to send her toppling over that cliff.

"Momma!" Jayme banged loudly on the bathroom door.

"What?" Rayna groaned in frustration. She had been so close and her son just had to interrupt her.

"Deac has my pajama shirt and he won't give it back." Jayme told her.

"I do not, momma. This one is mine he lost his." Deac argued.

"Jayme, why don't you please ask daddy to find it for you?" Rayna suggested. "Deac, did you look at the tag to make absolutely sure that's your shirt?" All of the twins' clothes that were the same she and Deacon marked with their initials so they would know whose was whose.

"Yes, I always check." Deac called back.

"Daddy and Jackie are both curled up in the chair downstairs sleepin'." Jayme replied.

"Where is your sister?" Rayna knew that Charlie was big enough to do the basic thing for herself and she knew not to go outside alone, but still it would be nice to know where she was.

"She's downstairs she took over the big tv when daddy fell asleep." Deac took that question.

"More like she wrestled you for the remote and you got beat by a girl cause you're a sissy." Jayme snorted.

"Can ya'll please give your momma just ten more minutes? Please." Rayna pleaded with them. "Jaymes Wyatt, do not call your brother a sissy. That's not nice."

"But, momma, daddy is still sleepin'." Deac pointed out to her.

"I know it's ok you're both big boys I'll be down in a few minutes." Rayna told them.

"Momma, I still need my pajamas. If I wake daddy up he won't be happy at all cause he had a hard time gettin' to sleep and gettin' the little booger to go to sleep." Jayme whined.

"Ok, ok, I'm comin' just give me a minute. Damn it, Jayme, I just told you not to call your brothers names." Rayna climbed out of the tub and threw her robe on. She opened the bathroom door. "Deacon John, I know that it's your shirt I understand this, but please for my sanity let your brother wear it for tonight. I will give you one of daddy's t-shirts to wear for bein' so cooperative. Deal?"

Deac took his shirt off and handed it to his brother. "Deal, momma."

"Thank you, my sweet boy." Rayna kissed his head and opened Deacon's t-shirt drawer. "Here you can wear his Ryman t-shirt. He has a bunch of those and he won't miss it." She handed it to him.

Jayme smiled. "Thank you, momma."

"You're welcome, but I'm not the one you should be thankin'. Thank your brother. And please, please stop the name callin'." Rayna kissed his head as well. "Deac, did Charlie beat you fair and square or was she bein' a bully?"

"She beat me fair and square." Deac pulled his dad's t-shirt over his head.

Rayna ruffled his hair. "You are my easy child don't ever change." She melted a little at the smile she got from him in return. "Now where exactly is your father?"

"He's downstairs sleepin' in the recliner with Jack. He took one of his pain pills or two maybe I'm not sure." Jayme shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, let's go downstairs. Your daddy is in so much trouble when I get done with him." Rayna put her feet in her house shoes.

Deacon and Jack were both sound asleep.

"Charlie, no more beatin' up on your brothers. I don't know how many times I'm gonna have to tell you that." Rayna pointed a finger at her youngest daughter.

"It was a fair fight though, momma." Charlie pouted a little.

"All of you get on up to bed. I'll be up to tuck you in soon." Rayna told them. "Deac, do you think you can carry Jack?"

"I can carry him he's light." Deac answered right away.

Rayna picked her youngest up and handed him to his brother. "Be careful goin' upstairs."

"Ok, momma." Deac replied.

"I'll guide you up, Deac." Charlie volunteered.

"Thanks, Charlie." Deac smiled at her.

"I guess I'll walk behind you so you don't fall backwards." Jayme offered.

"That'd be great, Jayme." Deac told his twin.

They headed up the stairs in a line.

Rayna nudged Deacon gently once the kids were upstairs. "Deacon, wake up, babe." She kissed his lips softly.

Deacon woke up with a groan and then he smiled. "Hey, babe, how was your bath?"

"It would have been a hell of a lot better if the twins hadn't come in and started pounding on the bathroom door." Rayna replied.

"I'm sorry, babe, I fell asleep. I told them to wake me if they needed anythin' and not to bother you." Deacon apologized.

"It's fine, Deacon." Rayna snapped.

"It doesn't sound fine to me. It sounds like you're pissed." Deacon observed.

"I'm not pissed I'm just frustrated. I really needed a couple hours to myself, babe. You can't help out as much as you normally do right now and I'm doin' it all. I asked you to watch the kids for two hours while I soaked in the tub. That didn't mean it was a good time for you to take a nap." Rayna retorted.

"And I said I was sorry. I know that I can't do much right now. I should be back to myself soon." Deacon apologized again.

"It doesn't help matters any that I didn't accomplish a damn thing up there. Your sons started banging on the door just as I was about to come." Rayna kept her voice low.

"I'm real damn sorry that I can't take care of you the way that you need to be taken care of right now, but I'm doin' my best. Like I told you this mornin' if you need to get off that badly use your damn vibrator. You're the one that said you use it when you wanna get off without me." Deacon grumbled.

"Oh stop it, Deacon. That's bullshit. You're bein' ridiculous 'bout that damn vibrator. We are together oh roughly ninety percent of the time. I don't even use it that often. I'm sorry that I threatened your damn manhood by sayin' what I said. And I'm sorry that you couldn't get it up when you first got out of the hospital." Rayna just made the situation worse.

"You better go on up and tuck those kids into bed. I'm just gonna sleep down here tonight. I wouldn't wanna interrupt you or anythin'. Really take this opportunity to do whatever you need to without me in the way. I'm sorry I've become such a burden to you." Deacon spit back.

"Deacon, babe, come on. I don't think you're a burden." Rayna sighed.

"Can you just please go so I can go back to my ill-timed nap?" Deacon snarled.

"You know what? If you're gonna be like that I don't want you in my bedroom tonight." Rayna stomped off up the steps.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We're slowly, but surely moving closer to Maddie and JC's wedding. I promise that it's gonna be worth the wait. Until next time please review.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 32

"Alright, here is the deal. For every movie we watch that you like we have to watch one that I like. I know that your daddy has you on a steady diet of westerns and action movies, but it won't hurt to broaden your horizons." Rayna and Charlie were cuddled up together on the couch. She was such a daddy's girl normally, but she always managed to log in some quality mother-daughter time with her.

Rayna loved that about her. It gave Deacon a chance to do the things he'd missed out on with Maddie. He got to be her protector and chase the monsters in the shadows away in the dark of night. Not that he needed to protect her very much. Their beautiful fearless little girl was the best of both of them that way. Tonight was the perfect night for one of their bonding sessions.

"Momma, I don't really do chick flicks." Charlie sighed.

"These aren't just any chick flicks. These are movies that your daddy watched with me when they first came out. If I told you how long ago that was that would tell you how old me and daddy are. Even he likes these movies. I promise you that it won't be as bad as you think." Rayna had to hide a smirk.

"The last time Maddie and Daphne said that they made me sit through a hardcore chick flick." Charlie crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows together.

Rayna leaned over and kissed her forehead with a chuckle. "You look just like your daddy and Maddie when you make that face. That makes me love you even more than I already do. I promise you if you don't like these movies I won't force you to watch anything that you don't like again for a while."

"Ok, fine, I'll do it for you, but I don't have to like it." Charlie grumbled.

"Your sisters are on pretty thin ice with you huh?" Rayna teased her.

"Yes they are. Daphne likes to dress me up in ridiculous outfits and Maddie is makin' wear a dress for her stupid weddin'. I'm goin' on strike, momma." Charlie brooded even more than she already had been.

"You're such a good little sister, sweet pea. Those two older girls are just pushing their luck with you." Rayna hid a smirk behind her hand.

"Momma, can I ask you somethin'?" Charlie looked at her with her big blue eyes.

"Of course you can. You can talk to me about anythin' even the hard unpleasant stuff." Rayna reached over and took her hand.

"You and daddy have barely been talkin'. Are you guys gonna get a divorce?" Charlie asked innocently.

"Oh, honey, no. You don't ever have to worry about your daddy and me getting a divorce. No matter how much we bicker and argue we will always stay together. We love each other very much and we love the life that we have here with all our babies. You may be a little too young to understand this, but I'm gonna explain the best I can. Passion is a double edged sword for me and daddy. We have a big love and big fights, but they never ever will outweigh our love." Rayna explained to her.

"Ok, I was just makin' sure." Charlie nodded her head satisfied with that answer.

"Your daddy and I will be sittin' out on the front porch one day holdin' hands in the rockin' chairs and arguin' over somethin' that happened years ago." Rayna reassured her. "Now, I'm gonna put Steel Magnolias on. I think you're really gonna like it. Daddy won't admit it, but it's one of his favorites." She turned the movie on.

"Daddy only likes westerns and Old Yeller." Charlie retorted.

"I can get him to watch this movie for me though. He's pretty great that way. And you are a lot like him." Rayna snuggled her close.

Charlie wrapped her arms around her mother. "I love you, momma."

"I love you too, sweet pea." Rayna kissed her head.

After the movie was over Charlie was sound asleep and Rayna carried her up to her bedroom and tucked her into bed before she headed to her room. Deacon was sitting up in the recliner with the tv on.

"Did the boys all go down easy?" Rayna climbed into bed.

"They all went down without a problem. You know that the two big boys are both wantin' their own rooms now?" Deacon replied.

"I know they do. I told them that we would get on that soon. I'm really surprised that they wanted to share a room this long." Rayna yawned.

Deacon turned off the tv and got in bed with her. "You seem tired."

"I am. I'll be so glad for you to feel better." Rayna rolled on side and turned out the light.

"I know, baby. You're doin' a lot and I do appreciate it." Deacon shifted in bed so that he could put his arm around her.

"I know you do, babe. I've been hard to live with lately and I'm sorry. It's just I'm used to you bouncing back quicker than this. Babe, you have been really sick and it scared me." Rayna got a little choked up.

"I know you're scared and I'm so sorry that I scared you. I'm right here, babe, and I'm not goin' anywhere." Deacon rested his hand on her midsection.

"I love you so much." Rayna told him.

"I love you too, baby." Deacon slid his hand down to the top of her pajama pants.

"Please, baby." Rayna whispered softly her voice full of need.

Deacon slipped his hand under the elastic of her sleep pants and her panties. He found her already wet in anticipation. He used his thumb to trace circles around her clit.

Rayna made a soft whimpering noise as he touched her for the first time in weeks.

Deacon put his mouth against her ear. "Why don't you hand me that vibrator and let me show you a good time?" His voice was husky. He wanted her badly, but he knew that he wasn't quite healed enough for that yet.

Rayna turned her head and smirked at him. "Oh yeah? You sure you can handle that?"

"I can more than handle that." Deacon grinned.

Rayna dug through her nightstand drawer and handed him her vibrator. "Show me what you got, babe." She kicked her pants and underwear off.

"You know what I got and you love it." Deacon slid the vibrator inside of her.

Rayna arched her back and moaned. "Oh god, babe. It's not gonna take much at all."

"I know that." Deacon pumped the vibrator in and out of her a few times before he turned it on.

Rayna moaned louder and she raised her arm over her head and grabbed the hair on the back of his head.

Deacon pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. He knew all the things to do to send her tumbling over the edge.

Rayna's breathing quickened and her muscles went rigid she came with a loud moan and then she lay back on the bed panting.

Deacon turned the vibrator off and sat it over on the nightstand. "How was that, babe?"

Rayna chuckled softly and looked at him. "The only way that could have been better was if you were inside me."

"Soon, baby, I promise. That was pretty damn hot." Deacon laughed.

"I can feel how hot you thought that was. Are you gonna be ok?" Rayna could feel his erection poking into her.

"Not like I can do anythin' 'bout it." Deacon replied.

"I can though. Lay down." Rayna grinned wickedly.

Deacon did as she told him. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"You'll see." Rayna slid his pants and boxers down. "You say that goin' through the motions and havin' to thrust will hurt you and I understand that, but you just lay there and let me know if I hurt you."

"I can do that." Deacon smiled up at her.

Rayna straddled him and sank down onto him with a moan. She grabbed onto the headboard for support. "I'm ashamed I didn't think of this sooner." She panted.

"Damn, baby." Deacon moaned.

"You gonna be ok if I move?" Rayna asked him.

"Just go slow." Deacon breathed heavily.

Rayna started to move up and down slowly. She watched his face for any signs of discomfort. "Mmm, baby, you feel so good."

"I've missed you." Deacon hated that he couldn't really move or touch her the way that he wanted to, but he could still feel the connection they had every time that they had sex.

Rayna knew that the way she was moving wasn't really enough to get him there so she squeezed her walls around him.

Every time she thrust it caused the bones in his chest to grate together, but he didn't want to say anything she was obviously enjoying herself and he wasn't going to stop her. He just closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"You wanna come for me, baby?" Rayna moaned. Even though she'd just come she was already close again.

"Please, babe." Deacon panted.

It didn't take much more before they both came together.

"Was that what you really needed?" Deacon asked her.

"Yes, I needed that so badly, babe." Rayna snuggled against him.

"I'm so glad, babe." Deacon held her.

"Was it good for you?" Rayna asked him.

"Yeah, babe, of course." Deacon answered her.

Rayna looked up and searched his face. "Baby, it hurt didn't it? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause you needed that and I've been useless lately. And I wanted to make you happy." Deacon replied.

"I was too hard on you the other day and I'm sorry. I know that you can't help this. I was frustrated and horny. I love you and those kids, but you're really good at givin' me a break from them when I need a minute to myself and I haven't been gettin' that lately." Rayna kissed him softly.

"It's ok. I felt like we connected again and that was more important than it feelin' good." Deacon reassured her. He held her close and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Rayna woke up the next morning to an empty bed and a note on her nightstand. _Ray, the big kids are all at school and then they have plans after, Henry is being entertained don't worry about him, and I have a few things to take care of. Enjoy the alone time. Love, Deacon_

She smiled to herself. He was so thoughtful like that. He always knew just what she needed to make her feel better. It made her feel just a little guilty for being so hard on him. When she went downstairs breakfast and coffee were waiting for her. After she ate she spent some time in the music room trying to write a song. She was ready to get to work on a new album.

At around noon she got a phone call from her Aunt Dottie asking her to come over. She got dressed and headed over to Belle Meade. Dottie's estate was just as big and elegant as Lamar's. Rayna walked up the front steps and knocked.

The door was opened by a man in his thirties wearing a shirt rolled up at the sleeves. "You have to be Miss Dottie's niece." He spoke with a thick southern accent.

"And you must be Aunt Dottie's new housekeeper or whatever euphemism she is using these days." Rayna smirked.

"I'm Keith I'm Miss Dottie's companion." Keith offered his hand.

"I'm Rayna I'm her favorite niece and I'm warning you I've got an eye on you." Rayna stared him down.

Keith looked down and cleared his throat. "Miss Dottie is in the solarium. I can take you."

"I know the way just fine. I'll show myself in." Rayna brushed past him.

Dottie sat at a card table a lit cigar clamped between her teeth. She had a glass in front of her that contained alcohol of some sort no doubt. She held two cards in her hand. "Jack, hit me."

Jack sat across from her with an unlit cigar in his hand and he dealt her another card. "That brings you to ten, Aunt Dottie."

"Hit me again. I swear you're dealin' from the bottom of the deck. These cards have been shitty." Dottie scoffed and drained the rest of her drink.

Jack laid a three down. "Thirteen, Aunt Dottie."

"Son of a bitch, Jackie, this cards really are horrible." Dottie grumbled. "Hit me again."

Jack dealt another card. "That's a seven and that makes twenty."

"Very good. I'll stay." Dottie smiled at him.

"What in the world is goin' on in here?" Rayna asked when she stepped into the room.

"Obviously I am teachin' my nephew how to play blackjack. I taught him gin and bridge earlier I made sure that both sides of his gene pool were covered." Dottie winked at her.

"You are a horrible person and I'm worse off for spendin' so much time with you. I was actually referrin' to the fact that you have my son. Who is also gonna be worse off for spendin' time with you." Rayna teased her.

"Momma!" Jack ran over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hi, baby boy. You having fun with Aunt Dottie?" Rayna hugged him tight.

"His daddy called and asked me how I would like to spend some time with my youngest nephew and I jumped at the chance. We have had a really nice day together and I really enjoy it that these little ones like spendin' time with their poor lonely aunt." Dottie laughed.

"Poor and lonely are two things you aren't. Do you wanna explain Keith to me?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Jackie, will you please go ask Keith to help you make me another drink." Dottie handed him her glass.

"Ok, Aunt Dottie," Jack took her glass and scampered off.

"Fake smokin' and mixin' your drinks. You really have him trained. You are CPS' worst nightmare." Rayna chuckled. "Now spill about the cute little man child that you have for a companion these days."

"You have a dirty mind. I would at least go for someone around your age. Your cousin hired him to keep an eye on me and to drive me around. I'm not supposed to know that, but I do. Don't you dare tell him that I know I enjoy knowin' that I can still outsmart him. As a momma it's one of the small pleasures I get in this life." Dottie retorted.

"I know exactly what you mean by that. And I wouldn't tell that little punk anythin' I love him, but my loyalties are to you." Rayna laughed. "But seriously, you are teachin' my four-year-old to play cards, smoke cigars, and drink. What am I gonna do with you?"

"He is almost five it's high time for a boy his age to learn 'bout such things. Hopefully you're gonna grow up to be me. It's more likely to be you than Tandy anyway. She is too much like your daddy. You're more like your momma than you'll ever realize." Dottie smirked.

"There is no hope for you. You were really fond of my momma weren't you?" Rayna took a seat.

"I loved your momma. I was the one who introduced Virginia to Lamar as a matter of fact. He fell in love with her at first sight. She just dazzled him. And she did love him for a time, but you know that your momma came from money too and she only married him because your granddaddy approved of him. Watty was the one she truly loved though. As you know your daddy is not the easiest man to get along with. The only thing harder than bein' his daughter is bein' his baby sister or in your momma's case his wife. He needed her to be someone that she just couldn't be. She was a force of nature she wasn't built to be the wife of a businessman and do the whole wiltin' southern belle routine. She was wild and she wasn't meant to be tamed." Dottie explained.

"That sounds like my momma. It sounds like me. Hell it sounds like Maddie. The only difference is I didn't marry Teddy for daddy's approval I let my own fears get in the way. I've made a longstanding job out of earning daddy's disapproval as a matter of fact. Then with Maddie Deacon and I have always approved of Jimmy and we did kinda tame her a little bit." Rayna chuckled.

"I do like that Jimmy. He's good for her. The women in this family need a man that can keep them on their toes." Dottie smiled. That smile grew bigger when Jack walked in the room followed by Keith who carried a tray.

"Miss Dottie, I have a whole pitcher of drinks for you that Master Jackson prepared himself." Keith sat the tray down on the table.

"Good God, Keith, how many times do I have to tell you to not be so formal?" Dottie rolled her eyes at him.

"Just once more like always, Miss Dottie." Keith smirked.

"I've got my eye on that one. He's way too charming for his own good." Rayna eyed him up and down.

"I taught you well then." Dottie laughed and poured herself a drink. "Have one you look like you could use it."

"I have to drive my son home." Rayna pointed out to her.

"Keith can drive you home. Just have one." Dottie poured a drink for her.

"Ok, it's not like you're givin' me much of a choice." Rayna took the drink from her.

"Do you need anythin' else from me, Miss Dottie?" Keith asked her.

"I don't need anythin' else right now. If I do I'll have Jack let you know." Dottie dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"You sure you haven't gone there?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Why do you have so little faith in me?" Dottie asked her.

"I have so little faith in you because I know you so well. Point in case you're teaching my son to play cards, smoke, and drink. He ain't gonna need any bad influences when he becomes a teenager." Rayna sipped her drink.

"He had to have one fun aunt. We both know that that's not your sister. If you ain't figured it out by now I'm the black sheep of the family." Dottie drained half of her drink.

"You and me both, Aunt Dottie. We are pretty damn good at pissin' daddy off. I think you're even better at it than I am. I don't know how you two survive around each other without one of you bein' killed." Rayna took another drink.

"Lamar and I actually do love each other. We just love each other better from afar. As for you he loves you dearly cause you are every bit you're momma. That's also why he's such a mean cuss with you. They fought like cats and dogs too."

Rayna took that in stride and nodded her head. She picked up the deck of cards off the table. "Did you by chance teach this one how to play hold 'em yet?"

"Not yet I hadn't gotten that far." Dottie replied.

"Jackie Bear, pull up a seat you're about to get a little more education into the world of gambling. One of these days you are gonna do your momma a huge favor and beat the pants off your daddy at poker. Hopefully Aunt Dottie and I will be able to give you the tools to do that. He only lets me win I want you to beat him at his own game." Rayna shuffled the cards and started to deal them.

Jack pulled his chair up close to Rayna's. "Ok, momma."

* * *

"Deacon, I'm sorry that I'm running late. I got held up in the studio." Watty took a seat in the booth across from the younger man.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Wat. It's good for me to be out of the house for a little while." Deacon replied.

"How are you feeling by the way?" Watty asked him.

"I still ain't quite up to par, but I'm feelin' a lot better. Thanks for askin'." Deacon had his hand wrapped around a coffee mug.

"What did you want to meet me here for?" Watty got the sense that he needed to talk.

"I've had a lot of time to do some thinkin' lately and trust me I've thought 'bout a lot. I think that it's time for me to get into the studio and make a new album. I wanna get back to my roots I feel like I've lost my way a little bit." Deacon told him.

"What does that have to do with me?" Watty wasn't really sure where he was trying to go with this.

"You were there at the beginnin' back when I was young and earnest. Back when I was still innocent in a way before everythin' got all fucked up. If you have the time and you're not too tired I was thinkin' that maybe you could sit in while I cut the album tell me what's workin' and what's not workin. Oh and I don't want Ray to know 'bout it 'til it's finished. She's got enough on her plate right now." Deacon sipped his coffee.

"When were you thinking about doing this?" Watty flagged down a waitress and ordered a cup of coffee.

"Not only did I have a lot of time to do some thinkin' I had a whole lotta time to do some writin'." Deacon took his portfolio out of his messenger bag and sat it on the table.

Watty picked it up and thumbed through it. "Deacon, that's a whole album worth of songs. That's a whole album worth of very good songs as a matter of fact. Songs like you used to write even before you met Rayna. This album tells a story. This album tells your story. You wouldn't by chance have any of these songs set to music yet would you?"

"I ain't really been able to play the guitar lately, but I have it in my head how I want 'em all to sound. And I'm sure there are probably a few lyrics here and there that need some tweakin'. There's one song in there that I wanna have down cold before Ray's anniversary concert at the Opry." Deacon answered him.

"I think we can handle that. I can't think of a thing that I rather do than help you out with this." Watty replied.

Deacon laughed softly. "Like you helped me out when you introduced me to Ray that night?"

"What are you talking about now?" Watty asked him.

"Was that to help her out or was that to help me out?" Deacon asked in reply.

"Honestly, I thought you'd be a good fit together. I didn't expect the magic that I got. There are only two couples that I've heard that sound almost as good as you two do together. You're the daddy to one half of one of them and you're the uncle to one half of the other. I'm startin' to think that you have some pretty damn good genetics." Watty laughed.

"With Scarlett it was that town we grew up in. All that Natchez has ever brought anyone I know is pain. Maddie is a horse of an entirely different color. That girl got a talent that's all her own." Deacon smiled proudly.

"That's the proud daddy in you coming out right there." Watty slid his notebook back against the table to him.

"Yeah, I am kinda proud of all of the little monsters ain't I? Thanks for doin' this, Wat." Deacon replied.

"You are the closest thing that I have to a son. I'd do anything for you. You know that. Now how are you getting home?" Watty asked him.

"I'm gonna drive myself just like I drove myself here." Deacon answered him.

"How about you let me drive you? The last time I talked to Song Bird she said that you were on some pretty heavy duty painkillers and you aren't supposed to be driving anyway because of your chest and the airbag." Watty suggested.

"Alright, if it'll get you off my case I'll let you drive me." Deacon relented. It was just easier for him to go with the flow than it was to argue sometimes.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry about the long wait I just got done redoing my bathroom and that didn't leave much time to work on writing. Don't worry I'm back and I'm still going strong. Until next time please review.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 33

"Deacon, I didn't expect to see you here. It's so good to see you out of the house." Sadie was surprised by Deacon's presence at his old house when she let herself in.

"I needed to get some writin' done and there was no way that was gonna happen at home. I thought I might as well put the house for wayward musicians to use. What bring you by?" Deacon looked up from his notepad.

"I'm actually meetin' Paul here. He is gonna help me break up my case of writer's block. I don't know if that's gonna help any, but it's worth a try. At this point anythin' is worth a try. Even makin' a deal with the devil himself." Sadie took a seat in one of the armchairs.

"Paul is a pretty good songwriter. You could do worse than havin' someone like him help you write your album." Deacon grunted. He could admit that his father did have his usefulness.

"I hate to break up your obviously sunny mood, but are you even to supposed to be drivin' right now?" Sadie asked him.

"No, I'm bot. When have you ever known me to do what I'm supposed to do?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"Good point." Sadie laughed.

"If you and Paul are gonna be usin' the place I guess I better pack up and leave ya to it." Deacon started to gather his belongings.

"You don't have to leave. This will be far from the first time that more than one artist has used this space to write at a time." Sadie didn't want him to think that he had to run off because she was there. It was his house after all.

"You ain't chasin' me off or anythin' like that. I've already stayed her longer than I should have anyway. I'm supposed to be helpin' Ray get things ready for the boys' party. She sent me out on a supply run and I've taken longer than I said I would. I'm surprised she ain't called me yet." Deacon put his writing stuff in his messenger bag.

"I didn't know that you were workin' on a new album. You are tryin' that woman's patience as it is you shouldn't be doin' anythin' else to make it worse." Sadie commented to him.

"I think she's accepted that I'm always gonna be on her nerves. I've had a lot of time to do some writin' lately and I have a while album's worth of material. The thing is I'm keepin' it a surprise from Ray. I know that she needs this badly right now. Not one of us has put anythin' out in a while and it's time. I mean Maddie was the last one of us to release an album and you know how that turned out." Deacon explained to her.

"Hey, anyone here?" Paul called out when he opened the door.

"I'm here, Paul, thanks for comin." Sadie answered him.

"No problem, I told you that I don't mind doin' this." Paul assured her. "Hey, DJ, how's it goin'?"

"It's goin' good, Paul. I'm gonna get outta here and let ya'll work. I will see you on Saturday though. I know that you're comin' to the boys' party." Deacon put the strap of his messenger bag over his shoulder and grabbed his guitar case.

"I'll see you then I wouldn't let those two little boys down for anythin' in the world." Paul replied.

"They'd have your ass if you even thought 'bout not showin' up. They seem to think that their birthday is a big deal." Deacon laughed softly.

"Don't I know it? They are a lot like somebody else I know that way. You used to get so excited about your birthday when you were a little boy." Paul recalled fondly.

"I don't celebrate my birthday. I watch Old Yeller every year and that's good enough for me." Deacon ran his free hand through his hair.

"That's a far cry from what you used to be like." Paul set his gear down and made himself at home.

"I've been three or four different people since then, Paul. That was around fifty years ago. On that note I'm gonna go." Deacon excused himself quickly.

'Do you have to push both your sons' buttons like that? You keep pushin' you're gonna push them both away." Sadie advised him.

"I already did that. I ain't got nothin' left to lose if I keep pushin'." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's get to work before we get into trouble." Sadie shook her head at him.

* * *

"Buck, what's up? Why'd you call me over here?" Rayna met Bucky in the driveway of her old house in Belle Meade.

"For a change nothing in wrong I wanted you to come over here and see this. It was a great idea to use this place as one of the locations for this video." Bucky replied.

"Even better than it being perfect for this video it's free. With our finances looking the way they do right now free is good." Rayna told him.

"Tandy will agree with you on that point and I'm not about to argue either. Free is very good. It's my favorite price right now. We are in a little bit of a hole, but this is gonna put us back in the black." Bucky reassured her.

"So, what do you want me to see?" Rayna asked.

"I want you to see the magic that these two are making. You wouldn't believe how great they are." Bucky led her inside.

"Maddie, I'm tellin' ya that I'm not livin' in the damn Gulch. You may as well get that thought outta your head right now. You can tell the realtor to look for somethin' outside of downtown." JC told Maddie.

"You need to open up to the possibility of living somewhere other than out in the sticks. Right now I'm going along with this whole you sorta live in my parents' bunkhouse thing, but I would like to share a home with my husband." Maddie argued back.

"You wanted me to see this? I see this every day." Rayna gave Bucky a look.

"I want you to see what they look like when the cameras are rolling. They've been going at it worse than you and Deacon between takes. I've been ignoring them I'm obviously use to this. I'm happy when they turn the cameras back on them." Bucky rolled his eyes.

"I don't wanna raise a family in an apartment no matter how big it is. Trust me you don't want to be around me if I don't have a yard to go tinker around in. If it makes you feel any better keep your apartment and stay in it whenever you want to." JC suggested.

"I'm pretty sure that the minute I move out of that apartment mom is gonna have Daphne change the locks on me. What about Brentwood?" Maddie was trying to work with him.

"Guys like me get kicked outta Brentwood for just lookin' sideways. And I don't blame her you're a slob, babe." JC pointed out to her.

"Oh my God, you sound like my dad when you say things like that. You are far from poor. You live that way because you choose to." Maddie sighed.

"Alright, you two break it up. Why is it that you don't know how to behave in public?" Rayna rolled her eyes at them.

"Hey, mom, what are you doing here?" Maddie turned around with a smile on her face.

"Uncle Bucky called me and he wanted me to see you guys shoot this video. I walked in on this." Rayna answered her.

"This is us looking for a house. This is my husband to be sounding just like my father. Nothing is good enough for him." Maddie groused.

"This is you not seein' the bigger picture." JC went over and kissed Rayna's cheek. "I love that woman and I thank you for bringin' her into this world, but I wanna strangle her."

"You and I have that in common." Rayna agreed with him.

"I don't know why everyone always has to act like I'm such a pain in the ass." Maddie acted like she took offense to their comments.

"Well, baby girl, if the shoe fits." Rayna smirked at her.

"She's been like this all day. We've been working on this since last night. And we are shooting it out of order. Hopefully we should be done soon before we have to come work on it again tonight." JC informed her.

"Right now you two are the money makers. Everyone else is in the studio and my talent scout is out on medical leave. Not that new artists bring money in right away." Rayna replied.

"You'll be happy to know that my album is almost finished and I'll be able to go out on tour again this year." Maddie supplied.

"That's the case with me too." JC added.

"That's why I love you two. You make my job so much easier." Bucky told them.

"Uncle Jimmy, you need to take that shirt off and give it to Maddie to put on. I want to try the last shot like that while we still have the right lightin'. We take too much longer and we're just gonna have to come back tomorrow and try it again." MJ walked over to JC. He was directing the video.

JC unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to Maddie. "There you go."

"Thank you," Maddie stared at him hard.

"So am I just supposed to walk around half naked or what?" JC asked his nephew.

"Yeah and then we will do another shot with you in a t-shirt. At this point I'm playin' 'round to see which shot I like better." MJ replied.

"Whatever you say, you're the boss for right now." JC just went with the flow.

"Bucky, what do you think? Is this kid worth the money we're payin' him?" Rayna teased a little.

"He's good. It's looks like his degree is paying off." Bucky played along.

"I'm just puttin' up with this treatment because it gets my mother off my back. I'm honestly surprised that she doesn't have my daddy here checkin' up on me." MJ joked.

"We decided to give Bucky a break. He's had to put up with your dad enough over the years so we banned him from set. Also your dad is one of the biggest pains in the ass that I've ever met I don't want him loose to make trouble. But for real you do need to have them both come out to see you work. Maybe when you shoot the scenes at the Mile Marker." Rayna suggested to him.

"I'll do that." MJ smiled. "All jokin' aside. I really appreciate the opportunity that you've given me, Aunt Rayna."

"Sweetie, you don't have to thank me. I needed a director for this music video and you needed somethin' to direct. If you really want to thank me you will knock it out of the park." Rayna smiled sweetly at him.

* * *

" _Sometimes they're in a bottle. Sometimes a pair of high heel shoes. Some come rolled in paper. Some have six strings and only play the blues. Once you met the devil there ain't no way he'll let you be. When I'm not chasin' demons there's demons chasin' me."_ Deacon was in the studio recording the first song for his album. They were using Watty's recording studio of choice.

" _Skeletons in closets. Ghost underneath the bed. They hide out in pictures. And words better left unsaid. They hang around like perfume and haunt me like an ancient melody. When I'm not chasin' demons. There's demons chasin' me."_ This song like all of his songs was about Rayna, but it was deeper than usual. This song didn't explore his love for her this one explored the conflicting feelings he'd had about her over the years.

" _There's things that I can't leave alone. 'Cause they won't leave me alone. What I want ain't what I need. Still I reach for the things I crave better try to run away. Maybe I'm afraid of free. 'Cause when I'm not chasin' demons there's demons chasin' me."_ He sang into an old fashioned mic that hung down from the ceiling.

" _So roll one up and light pick up my old guitar. I'm playin' crossroads and drinkin' whiskey from the mason jar. There's a heartache at my front door. Says she needs my company. When I'm not chasin' there's demons chasin' me."_ That was by far his favorite part of the song. It summed up everything about his past perfectly.

 _There's things that I can't leave alone 'cause they won't leave me alone. What I want ain't what I need. Still I reach for the things I crave. Better try to run away. Am I afraid of bein' free? 'Cause when I'm not chasin' demons there's demons chasin' me. When I'm not chasin' demons. There's demons chasin' me. There's demons chasin' me. There's demons chasin' me. When I'm not chasin' demons. There's demons chasin' me. Demons chasin' me. Demons chasin' me. Demons chasin' me. When I'm not chasin' demons. There's demons chasin' me."_ He finished the song and stepped outside of the booth.

"What do you think, Wat?" Deacon asked once he was in the sound booth.

"What do I think? I think that came from a really deep place inside of you and it sounded more like you than you have in a while." Watty gave him his honest opinion.

Deacon smiled broadly. "You don't know how much that means comin' from you like that. I think I lost my way a little bit and I didn't even realize it."

"You sounded like the kid who used to play every open mic night and bad lounge that he could. That's who you are in your soul." Watty patted his back.

Deacon checked the time on his phone. "I think it's time to call it a night before my wife starts to wonder where I am."

"See you again tomorrow night?" Watty asked him.

"It'll depend on if I can sneak over here. Tomorrow is the boys' birthday party. Which you are comin' to. I'll let you know for sure." Deacon replied.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world. Alright sounds good to me." Watty agreed.

"Let me go dismiss the band for the night." Deacon walked back into the sound booth. He was doing something different and instead of having the melody recorded separately he was doing it at the same time. "We can call it a night ya'll. Thanks for comin' every time I call."

"We're you're band, boss, we come when you call." His drummer pointed out to him.

"Good, you know messin' with you has got my wife thinkin' that I'm havin' an affair." Max punched his shoulder affectionately.

"Hey no man handlin' me. My chest still hurts like a bitch." Deacon warned him. "Hailey would just be thankful that someone else had to deal with you for a while if you decided to have an affair. I know that I'm bein' secretive 'bout this, but it's a surprise for my wife."

"This gets me away from Hailey for a few hours a night. I'm not gonna complain. She only thinks that I'm difficult to live with cause she doesn't have to live with herself." Max shook his head.

"I gotta get goin' 'fore Ray starts askin' questions. Her mind doesn't go to I'm cheatin' on her. Her mind goes to I'm drinkin'." Deacon made a face.

"We can't live with 'em and we can't kill 'em." Max shrugged his shoulders.

"Your meetin' ran long tonight." Rayna was in the kitchen when Deacon made it home.

"Yeah, I know it did, I'm sorry." Deacon walked up behind her and eased his arms around her waist.

Rayna turned her head and studied him a minute before she kissed him.

"What was that look for?" Deacon asked her.

"I don't have anythin' to worry about with all the meetings you've been goin' to lately do I?" Rayna finally worked up the courage to ask him.

"No, you have nothin' to worry 'bout. I'm more firm in my sobriety now than I've ever been." Deacon swore to her.

"Good. You know if you even think about it I'll have you in rehab so fast that your head will swim." Rayna gave him a word of warning.

"I know that, baby. A drink ain't worth losin' ya'll over." Deacon rested his chin on her shoulder.

"It just makes me feel better to give you a reminder every now and then. I guess I got worried, because you rarely go to your meetings anymore and you've been a lot lately." Rayna admitted.

"You're well within your rights to remind me any time you think I need it." Deacon moved her hair off her neck and kissed it.

"Mmm, don't start. We have somethin' that we need to do." Rayna reminded him.

"We do." Deacon pulled away from her before he got carried away. "Deac! Jayme! Come here!"

Deac and Jayme both ran into the kitchen.

"Daddy and I have an early birthday present for you two." Rayna said before they could ask questions.

Deacon put a blindfold over each of their eyes. "Alright, lead 'em upstairs, momma."

Rayna put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Start walkin', gentlemen." She guided them up the stairs. She stopped at the end of the hall in front of two rooms.

Deacon opened both the doors and stood each boy in the correct doorway. "We go on the count of three." He winked at Rayna. "One, two, three." He counted off and they removed the boys' blindfolds.

"I got my own room just like I wanted." Deac walked into his room and studied everything.

"Me too," Jayme ran into his room.

"Now you both have your own space. We thought we would let you two finish decorating any way you want to and we still have to move your stuff in. But you both have your own desks and new computers." Rayna told them.

"Do you guys like your rooms?" Deacon asked.

"I love my new room." Deac threw his arms around his dad.

"I love mine too." Jayme hugged Rayna.

"Since ya'll are gettin' to be big boys now we figured we would move you to this end of the hall away from our room so you can have your privacy. You each have a bathroom and everythin' else that you need." Deacon explained to them.

"Ya'll gonna sleep in your new rooms tonight or are you gonna spend one last night together in your old room?" Rayna asked them.

"We need one more night in our old room." Deac answered her.

"Yeah, we didn't know that last night would be our last night and we need to do this right." Jayme agreed.

"We will leave you boys to that then. If you need anythin' you let daddy and me know." Rayna couldn't help laughing a little bit. She also couldn't shake the feeling that her boys were growing up a little faster than she would like.

"We will, momma." Deac replied.

Deacon took her and hand and walked back downstairs with her.

"I can't believe they are so big already." Rayna sighed.

"Neither can I. It's time for them to have their own space, though. They are bound to kill each other if they don't get it." Deacon hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"I know that too." Rayna had to agree on that point.

* * *

"You both look like death warmed over." Daphne said after taking a good look at her sister and JC.

"That's because my nephew is a little Nazi to work with. This is his first music video and he's bein' a pain in the ass." JC replied.

"We've both went on less sleep than this before though. The good news is we got him talked out of shooting tonight too." Maddie added.

"That stuff is a lot harder than it looks like it is. I didn't realize that until I had to shoot my first commercial." Joel spoke up.

"It's more trouble than it's worth, but it's somethin' that has to be done every now and then." JC nodded his head in agreement with his own statement.

"I agree with that. If I didn't like getting the endorsement deals I wouldn't put up with it." Joel raised his beer in salute.

Maddie traced her finger around the rim of her wine glass. "So, Joel, what exactly are your intentions with my baby sister?"

"Maddie," Daphne said her sister's name in a warning tone.

"Daphne, mind your own business I'm trying to grill your little friend here." Maddie waved off her sister's warning.

Joel figured it was better to play along so he leaned in close to Maddie and said. "My intentions with your sister are whatever the hell she wants them to be."

"You're a smart man." Maddie finally cracked a smile. "Daphne, I like this one. Try to keep him around."

"Joel, I apologize for my sister. There is clearly something wrong in her head." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry 'bout it. I'd probably be worse with my little sister." Joel took her hand under the table and squeezed it.

"No one is as bad as I am when it comes to my sisters. I'm thankful that they are both older than I am. If I had little sisters I would probably be in prison." JC chuckled.

"You're bad enough when it comes to my sisters." Maddie tried hard not to laugh.

"Don't tell me that you were ok with the way that boy that was like three years older than Charlie was talkin' to her. That wasn't ok at all." JC looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"This is why we can't pick them up from school anymore. We clearly embarrass the hell out of them." Maddie finally gave in and had to laugh.

"That's why mom is constantly interrupting me when I'm with Joel. It's nice to know who to blame for that." Daphne glared at her.

"With the poor decisions you make with men you probably need to be interrupted." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"Forgive me we can't all be as perfect as you think you are." Daphne took a sip of her drink.

"Wanna run yet?" JC asked Joel.

"Nah, I think I can stick it out." Joel shrugged his shoulders.

"If nothin' else they entertain the hell outta me." JC chuckled.

"Babe, just pay the bill so we can go do some serious drinking." Maddie gave up on fighting with her sister.

"No, I've got this." Joel reached for his wallet.

"Man, you ain't gotta do that. I can cover it." JC argued with him.

"I'm tryin' to make a good impression here, let me." Joel reasoned with him.

"In that case I ain't gonna argue anymore." JC put his hands up in a sign of surrender.

Joel handed his credit card to the waitress. He put it back in his wallet when she brought him the bill to sign. "Alright, let's get outta here." He pulled out Daphne's chair for her and helped her put her coat on.

"Babe, you're an ass. You know that?" Maddie gave JC a look.

"What? I do nice things for you all the time. Don't even go there with me." JC shook his head. He got in trouble even when he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Where do you guys wanna go now?" Daphne stepped in and stopped any argument that they could have.

"Let's go over to the Mile Marker. We can drink there in peace." JC answered.

"That sounds like a plan to me." Joel agreed with that.

"He only says that because he knows that we drink for free there." Maddie informed him.

"It's as good a reason as any." Daphne sided with JC.

"Unless Riff is in one of his moods and he decides that he's gonna tell dad about how huge our bar tabs are." Maddie pointed out.

"Dad uses us for free slave labor from time to time too, so he isn't gonna say much about our bar tab." Daphne took Joel's hand as they walked down the street.

"This is true." Maddie couldn't argue that point.

JC threw his arm around Maddie's shoulders. "Like Deacon ever gets on to you even when he should."

"You are really pushing your luck today, James. Keep up with me." Maddie teased him.

"I know you didn't just call me James, Madison." JC pulled her closer to him.

"This is why I'm glad that I don't have a given name that I don't want to be called by. I'm the only one of my parents' children that don't. Maddie, Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Jack all go by nicknames." Daphne listed off.

"No one in my family actually calls me Joel. They all call me Joey. Or even worse JJ." Joel informed her.

"One of these days I'm gonna figure out what that other J stands for." Daphne warned him.

"Or you could just google it." Maddie suggested.

"That takes all the fun out of it. I would rather guess." Daphne replied.

"Oh God, I think I need to call mom and tell her that this is the boy she needs to worry about when it comes to you." Maddie groaned. She loved her baby sister and the thought of her growing up anymore scared the hell out of her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 34

Rayna rummaged through every drawer in the kitchen. She felt like she was on a treasure hunt. She couldn't find what she was looking for and it was making her crazy. "What the hell happened to all those damn things? I live with a man who used to smoke a carton every two weeks and has a fire goin' year round you'd think I'd be able to find a lighter." She muttered to herself. "Deacon!"

"I'm right here, babe, you don't have to yell. You can tell me what you're lookin' for." Deacon walked up behind her.

"I need a lighter so I can light the candles on the boys' birthday breakfast cakes." Rayna opened up the cabinet that was over the stove.

"Hold on just one second. There's no reason to be upset. I had to hide all the matches and lighters. There's four monkeys in this house that I have to keep them put up from. The big boys figured out where we kept the lighters and matches. They are two really smart boys I don't trust them not to make flamethrowers or somethin'. Here use this one." Deacon took a lighter out of his pocket.

Rayna took it from him, but eyeballed him warily. "I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, but you better have this because you're always startin' a fire and not because you're smokin' again."

"Darlin', after my latest health scare I wouldn't smoke again if someone paid me. My chest is still killin' me." Deacon replied.

"I was just makin' sure, honey." Rayna put ten candles on each of the cakes that sat on the counter.

"How is it that you two are already fighting this early in the morning?" Maddie walked in and sat her purse on the counter.

"When haven't you known them to fight like this at any time of the day?" Daphne made a pretty valid point.

"If they didn't act like this you two wouldn't know what to do with 'em." JC added.

"I'll be damned if ya'll don't look and sound like death warmed over this mornin'." Rayna looked them up and down.

"Someone's new boyfriend picked up the bar tab last night and he spared no expense." Maddie poured herself a cup of coffee.

"He's not my boyfriend. He's just a guy that I happen to be seeing right now." Daphne corrected her.

"That's not the vibe I got from you two last night with the way ya'll were hangin' all over each other." JC too got a cup of coffee.

"The coffee is only gonna make the hangover worse." Deacon advised them.

"At least I'll feel human while my brain tries to explode outta my head." Maddie grumbled.

Deacon walked over to the fridge and took a can of tomato juice out. "Babe, where do we keep the vodka 'round here?" He spun around in a circle trying to find what he was looking for.

"The vodka is on top of the fridge. Where we have kept the vodka in every house we've ever lived in together. And you are not doing that. I'll add it in when you get to that part." Rayna told him.

"Whatever you want, darlin'." Deacon mixed together tomato, pineapple, and orange juice into three glasses. "Just a splash of vodka to steady 'em out."

"I know what I'm doin' it's not the first time I've seen you make one of these or have had to make one." Rayna retorted. "There, ya'll drink that. My advice to you is don't taste it just drink it as fast as you can."

"Can't have ya'll all hungover when we go in to sing happy birthday to the twins." Deacon handed them each a glass.

"Don't smell it either." Rayna added.

JC downed it without a thought.

Maddie pinched her nose and drank it.

Daphne drank half of it and gagged. "What's that?"

"Deacon Claybourne Junior's Miracle Hangover Cure." Deacon rattled off.

"Dad, you're not Deacon Claybourne Jr that's Deac." Maddie looked confused.

"That's right I'm Deacon John Claybourne Sr. and he's Deacon John Claybourne Jr. My pawpaw was Deacon Paul Claybourne Sr. and my father is Deacon Paul Claybourne Jr." Deacon explained.

"Then why in God's name aren't you Deacon Claybourne the third?" Daphne asked. She finished the rest of her drink.

"Because his middle name is different that's why." Rayna answered so Deacon didn't have to.

"Ok, are we ready to go sing to those boys?" Deacon stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. He'd just gotten close to uncomfortable territory.

"As ready as we're gonna be, dad." Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Ray, light them candles up." Deacon took his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together.

Rayna lit the candles on both cakes and picked one of them up. "Get the other one, babe."

"I've got it." Deacon picked it up and let her lead the way up the steps. "Come on, ya'll keep up." He called behind him to the other three.

"Grab Charlie and Jack." Rayna looked over her shoulder.

"I've got them." Daphne went and got her youngest brother and sister.

Rayna opened the door to the boys' bedroom. "Deac, Jayme, wake up my birthday boys."

Deac and Jayme both stirred and sat up in bed.

"Alright, ya'll hit it." Rayna said once everyone was in the room. She and Deacon sat on the edge of each of the boys' beds.

" _Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear, Deac, and Jayme. Happy birthday to you."_ Everyone sang to them.

"Ya'll make a wish and blow out the candles." Deacon smiled brightly at them. He held up Deac's cake for him to blow out the candles.

Both boys blew their candles out.

Maddie got into Jayme's bed and laid down beside him. "I can't believe my baby brothers are in double digits already. It seems just like yesterday that you were born." She pulled him down beside her and cuddled him.

Daphne got into bed with Deac. "I know how you feel. These two were just newborns. Deac ate all the time and Jayme liked to pee and spit up all over everyone."

"I did not." Jayme covered his face in embarrassment.

"You did so, little boy. The first time I ever changed your diaper you peed on me." Rayna corrected him.

"Some things never change. Deac still likes to eat just as much as he ever did." Deacon teased.

"That boy is gonna eat us outta house and home one of these days." Rayna winked.

"The boy just has a hallow leg that's all." JC laughed.

"Babe, you have no room at all to talk. You eat just as much as he does if not more." Maddie gave him a look.

"Do you two boys wanna get downstairs so we can cut these cakes?" Deacon asked them excitedly.

"Yeah!" Deac and Jayme cheered in unison.

"Come on then. You know I ain't gonna let you eat cake up here." Rayna chased them both out of bed by tickling them.

"Everyone get down to the kitchen. Even you three with the massive hangovers." Deacon herded them out.

Joel was standing in the middle of the kitchen when they came back down.

"Joel, what are you doing here already?" Daphne smiled despite her hangover.

"I knocked, but the door was unlocked so I let myself in." Joel kissed her cheek chastely.

"Sweetie, you just make yourself right at home. We always have people in and out of here." Rayna told him.

"Hi, Joel." The kids all waved at him.

"Hey, ya'll." Joel waved back. He leaned over and whispered to Daphne. "Which one of the twins is which?"

"The one in the red is Deac and the one in the blue is Jayme. Don't feel bad we can't always tell them apart either." Daphne whispered back.

"Happy birthday, Deac. Happy birthday, Jayme." Joel high fived them both.

"I'll tell ya'll what you have some interestin' friends. I never have anyone this cool come to my birthday parties." Deacon observed.

"Babe, you don't celebrate your birthday. You watch Old Yeller." Rayna reminded him.

"I know and that's the way I like it." Deacon pecked her lips.

* * *

Rayna wondered around the opry. They had it all decorated for her anniversary concert. She stared at the pictures. She looked like such a baby in some of them. She couldn't believe that it had been twenty years already.

"Who would have believed that the beautiful girl in those pictures would grow into the gorgeous woman I call my wife?" Deacon walked up behind her and whispered in her ear.

"Who would have believed that the irresponsible drunk next to her would grow into the steadfast dependable man that I call my husband?" Rayna leaned back against him.

"Touché." Deacon pointed to a picture of them from her tenth anniversary concert. "That's one of my favorites."

"I look horrible. I may have lost all the baby weight, but I was still a little swollen from havin' the boys." Rayna cringed.

"I always thought that you were at your most beautiful after you had a baby." Deacon told her.

"Damn, babe, I think the older you get the better you get at the compliments." Rayna turned around in his arms so she could kiss him.

"I don't know 'bout all that, but I know I love you. Come on, I wanna play somethin' for ya." Deacon took her hand and led her to the stage. He sat on a stool and picked up his guitar.

"This must be serious if I've gotta sit." Rayna teased him.

Deacon smiled and started to picking out a tune on his guitar. _"Two young lovers with their bodies on fire. Achin' to swim that river of desire. Leavin' innocence there on the bank by their clothes. A man holdin' on to a woman lettin' go."_

Rayna watched him play after all these years he still put her in a trance. He was like an artist with the sounds he got to come out of his guitar strings.

" _There's a man with a bottle on the other side of town. Swimmin' with a memory that he can't drown. Lord it ain't sunk in that she ain't comin' home. Oh, a man holdin' on to a woman lettin' go."_ Deacon stared into her eyes. This was one of the songs that he was thinking about putting on his new album, but he wanted her to hear it first. He needed to know what she thought of it.

When he got to that point in the song the rest of Rayna's original band started to play along with him. That was part of his surprise for he'd gotten everyone back for this.

" _His heart is tellin' him to hang on for dear life. Cause deep down he knows she's lettin' go for good this time."_ Deacon smiled when he saw the expression on her face.

" _There's a daddy walkin' his daughter down the aisle fightin' back tears and forcin' a smile. Oh, for twenty-two years he's watched her grow. A man holdin' on to a woman lettin' go."_ That line really hit home with Maddie's impending wedding coming up a lot faster than he cared to admit.

" _In the Hill Valley Home there's a feeble old man. And he's holdin' on to a fragile old hand. And the angels are comin' to carry her home. Now he's a man holdin' on to a woman lettin' go."_ Deacon's eyes teared up a little. That was what he saw in their future. The two of them together well into old age.

Rayna teared up too. All she had ever wanted was to spend the rest of her life with him.

" _His heart is tellin' him to hang on for dear life. Cause deep down he knows she's lettin' go for good this time. Two young lovers with their bodies on fire. Achin' to swim that river of desire. Leavin' innocence there on the bank by their clothes. Oh a man holdin' on to a woman lettin' go. A man holdin' on to a woman. A woman lettin' go."_ Deacon played the closing chords softly.

"My God, Deacon." Rayna was at a loss for words.

"What? Was it not any good?" Deacon asked her.

"I was referring to the fact that you got all the guys back in town for this. That song I don't have words for. It was perfect and it sounded like old country. I loved it, babe. I didn't know you were writin' again." Rayna wiped the tears from her eyes. That man never ceased to surprise her.

"Of course I got 'em back. I can't play with the new incarnation of your band they don't listen to me as well." Deacon pulled her to him. "Honey, I've had nothin', but time on my hands lately. Of course I've been writin'."

"You guys, thank ya'll so much for comin' back for this." Rayna made her rounds and hugged all of them.

"We are practically family. Did you really think I was gonna miss this?" Max asked her.

"Max, you're in my husband's band, you were in my band, and your brother-in-law is marrying my daughter. I think it's safe to say that I see more of you than I want to sometimes." Rayna elbowed him playfully in the ribs.

"Alright, ya'll, let's run through the old set list. I know that it's been a while for some of us. Me I could play these songs in my sleep with one hand tied behind my back. From what I remember ya'll ain't that good." Deacon switched out his guitar.

"Freakin' Deacon, you don't want to start somethin' with people who have as much shit on you as we do." Hayes the fiddle player said.

"Just remember that most of the dirt you have implicates you too. I wasn't the only one who played drunk." Deacon reminded him.

"You and Vince were the only ones who played so damn drunk that we had to compensate for you." Billy was the new drummer, but he had been in the band when Vince was still alive.

"Billy, are your wife and my husband at war again?" Rayna asked him. Billy's wife Liz was Rayna's stylist.

"I don't try to keep up with the Liz and Deacon saga. They are always fightin' 'bout somethin'." Billy replied.

"They really are." Rayna couldn't argue with that.

"Movin' on. I thought that we could start with Already Gone and work our way up from there." Deacon changed the subject.

"You ain't gonna make us play anythin' from that album she won all them CMAs for are ya?" Isaac used to be the keyboardist.

"The Parts I Remember wasn't that bad." Rayna defended herself.

"Ray, you know I love ya just remember that. The only damn reason you won so many awards for that album is because you had your face plastered all over everythin' right next to Luke Wheeler's. You have much better albums than that one." Max had to call it the way he saw it.

"Babe, does your chest still hurt too badly to fight or do I get to deck him myself?" Rayna said in a conversational tone.

"We ain't gotta touch him. All we gotta do is tell Hailey what he said and he'll wish that he hadn't." Deacon pointed out to her. "Though The Pieces of Yesterday was a much better album if I don't say so myself."

"You only say that because you co-wrote and produced that album." Rayna bumped her hip against his.

"That was some of my best work, but then again we do all of our best work together." Deacon kissed her.

"Can we please rehearse sometime today? Ya'll ain't gotten any better with age 'bout bein' all over each other. As a matter of fact, I think you've gotten worse. You had more children in your forties than when we were young." Max groaned.

"Need I remind you that your oldest is younger than my oldest and your son and my daughter are the same age?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"We are gonna rehearse now." Deacon put his foot down.

"Great idea, babe." Rayna agreed with him.

* * *

" _I've been sitting here staring at the clock on the wall. And I've been laying here praying, praying she won't call. It's just another call from home. You'll get it and be gone and I'll be crying. And I'll be begging you baby beg you not to leave. But I'll be left here waiting my heart on my sleeve. Oh, for the next time we'll be here. It seems like a million years and I think I'm dying. What do I have to do to make you see? She can't love you like me?"_ Daphne was in the studio recording a song for her new album.

This song was the only good thing to come out of her fling with Jeff. That experience had given her something new to write about. This was deeper and more hard hitting than her normal songs were.

" _Why don't you stay? I'm down on my knees. I'm so tired of being lonely. Don't I give you what you need? When she calls you to go there is one thing you should know we don't have to live this way. Baby, why don't you stay?"_ She adjusted her headphones so she could hear the instrumentals better.

" _You keep telling me baby there will come a time. When you will leave her arms and forever be in mine. But I don't think that's the truth and I don't like being used and I'm tired of waiting. It's too much pain to have to bear to love a man you have to share."_ She closed her eyes and tried to put all of her emotions into the words she was singing.

" _Why don't you stay? I'm down on my knees. I'm so tired of being lonely. Don't I give you what you need? When she calls you to go there is one thing you should know we don't have to live this way. Baby, why don't you stay?"_

Joel stepped into the control booth. Daphne had asked him to meet her there.

"Hey, Joel, it's good to see you again." Bucky greeted him. Since Rayna was busy rehearsing for her show he'd agreed to come down and keep an eye on Daphne.

"It's good to see you too, Bucky. Daphne wanted me to meet her down here for lunch. I thought that I would come a little early." Joel shook his hand.

"She'll be done in there in a minute." Bucky replied.

" _I can't take it any longer, but my will is getting stronger. And I think I know just what I have to do. I can't waste another minute after all that I've put in it. I've given you my best why should she get the best of you? So the next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine."_ Daphne wailed.

"Wow," Joel had a look of awe on his face.

"I know. She's always been an incredible singer, but she's gotten better since she and Maddie both went solo." Bucky patted his back. He could see how taken the young man was with his niece.

"I knew that she was good. I just had no idea that she was that good." Joel's jaw hung open.

" _Why don't you stay? I'm up off my knees. I'm so tired of being lonely. You can't give me what I need. When she begs you not to go there is one thing you should know. I don't have to live this way. Baby, why don't you stay?"_ Daphne finished the song and put her headphones around her neck.

"Daph, you're sounding great in there. I could feel the emotion." Bucky pressed the intercom button.

"Do you think we should go again?" Daphne wasn't sure that she was satisfied with that take.

"I think you should come in here and take a break. You're being like your dad right now. There's always one song that he gets stuck and wants to record over and over." Bucky replied.

"Ok, I'm coming." Daphne took her headphones off and walked into the room with them. "Really, Uncle Buck? You have to tell me that I'm like my dad?"

"The dad that finished raising you not the dad that fathered you." Bucky corrected her.

"I knew what you meant." Daphne didn't bother to look around.

"Daph, you have a visitor." Bucky pointed at Joel.

"Hey, Joel, you're early." Daphne gave him a flirty smile.

"I hope you don't mind, but I just couldn't wait a second longer to see you." Joel flirted back with her.

Bucky looked between them. He knew how this whole song and dance played out and he didn't need to see it again. "I have to go to the office. You give me a call when you're ready to get back to it."

"Of course, Uncle Buck." Daphne gave him a wave.

"Now that he's gone do you think I can get a proper hello?" Joel bit his bottom lip sexily.

"That can most certainly be arranged." Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"Hey," Joel grinned goofily at her.

"Hi," Daphne smiled against his lips.

"How come it feels like it's been so damn long since I saw you?" Joel let his hands rest on her ass.

"I don't know. I feel the exact same way." Daphne rubbed her nose against his.

"I think I'm fallin' for you, Daphne Claybourne." Joel mumbled lowly.

"I think I'm fallin' for you too, Joel Preston." Daphne mocked his accent.

Joel chuckled lightly. "So, what do you wanna do for lunch?"

"I hope you don't mind, but I double booked my lunch hour today. We are gonna go meet my sister and her goofy friend. I get the super fun job of going over wedding stuff with her today." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"That's fine with me. I'm just happy to get to spend a little time with you." Joel assured her.

"I'm happy to spend time with you too." Daphne pressed her cheek to his chest.

"Am I gonna regret agreein' to go out to lunch with you, your sister, and her crazy friend?" Joel grinned down at her.

"Probably. I think that Casey is one of those girls that you would classify as dirty sexy." Daphne teased him. She was not going to let him live that comment down any time soon.

"Casey? Casey Miller?" Joel asked.

"That's the one I'm talking about." Daphne nodded her head.

"That's right her and Maddie are like attached at the hip ain't they?" Joel ran his hand over the stubble on his cheeks.

"How did you know that?" Daphne arched both her eyebrows.

"Just because I'm a football player doesn't mean I'm above readin' the tabloids. I keep up on the gossip sites too." Joel informed her.

"You are never gonna live that one down just so you know." Daphne took his hand and led him outside.

"I would expect nothin' less at this point." Joel squeezed her hand.

"We are headed to my dad's bar. There are so many different people in and out of there all the time we will actually be able to get something done without being bothered." Daphne explained to him.

"That sounds good to me. Like I said I just wanna spend time with ya." Joel replied.

"Daph, hey, Daphne." Teddy was walking down the sidewalk and happened to catch sight of his daughter.

"Hi, dad. What are you doing down here?" Daphne stopped to talk to her father.

"I was just taking care of a few errands. What about you?" Teddy stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I was just in the studio and now I'm meeting Maddie for lunch. I'll be glad for her wedding to be over with she's making me crazy." Daphne could tell that he was acting a little uneasy.

"Yeah, you and me both." Teddy mumbled.

Joel just stood there his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"So, who's this young man?" Teddy inclined his head in Joel's direction.

"Forgive my manners. Dad, this is Joel Preston. Joel, this is my father, Teddy Conrad." Daphne introduced them.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Joel offered him his hand.

"Nice to meet you too. Are you a friend of Daphne's?" Teddy shook his hand.

Daphne looked at Joel and debated with herself for a minute before she answered. "Actually, dad, Joel is my boyfriend."

"You'll have to bring him by for dinner then just the three of us. I think I need to get to know him better." Teddy told her.

"If I can find time in my schedule. I'm always really busy these days." Daphne replied.

"It's no rush. You just let me know what works for you." Teddy nodded awkwardly.

"Dad, I hate to do this to you, but I really have to get going. If I don't meet up with Maddie right now she's gonna have a shit fit. And this is the only time we have to do this right now. We have mom's thing tomorrow night and all kind of other crap coming up." Daphne tried to excuse herself.

"Don't let me keep you from your sister. I know well how demanding she can be. I'll see you later, sweetheart." Teddy kissed her cheek.

"See you later, dad." Daphne smiled at him.

"So, I'm your boyfriend huh?" Joel grinned goofily once Teddy had walked away.

"Well, I'm not seeing anyone else and I don't think you're seeing anyone else. I really like you and you really like me, so I didn't know another word to describe what you are to me." Daphne laced the fingers on both their hands together.

"You're the only one that I want to see. You're right in that case that does make me your boyfriend." Joel grinned and bit his lip.

"And that makes me your girlfriend." Daphne stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him deeply.

Joel wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her off the ground, and spun her around while they kissed. "Come on, let's get to your sister before she puts a hit out on me for keepin' you so long."

"Right, she already thinks that you're only after my virtue anyway. You can't have her thinking that she's not the center of the universe too." Daphne laughed.

"Big sister is just looking out for ya. And I think I'm the only one that needs to be worried about his virtue here." Joel winked at her.

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you?" Daphne just shook her head at him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 35

"Deacon, come here." Rayna whispered and waved her husband over to the door of the music room.

"What's goin' on?" Deacon kept his voice low too.

"All of our children are in that room together right now and you've never heard somethin' so beautiful in your life. We got it right with them." Rayna leaned back against him.

"They all sound like angels. If only they all behaved that way." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Come on, let's go in there." Rayna took his hand.

"We better get in there before they get too big for their britches." Deacon agreed with her.

Rayna opened the door. "What is this? Ya'll gonna form a new group and call it The Claybourne Six?"

"Don't go givin' 'em any ideas, Ray. We had a hard enough time keepin' the oldest one in school and off tour as long as we did." Deacon warned her.

"No, we were just playing around." Maddie held her guitar in her lap.

"Ya'll sound damn good together for you to just be playing around." Rayna sat down on the couch between Maddie and Daphne.

Deacon sat on the other couch between Charlie and Jack. "I said ya'll sound like angels, but you don't behave that way." He tickled Jack's sides.

"I hope ya'll have your calendars free tomorrow night. When I say that I'm mostly talking about Maddie and Daphne. Where I go you four little ones go. It's just my twentieth anniversary at the Opry and I want you girls there on stage." Rayna explained.

"Mom, I've got nothing else on the books tomorrow night I will be there." Maddie assured her.

"I'm pretty much always free." Daphne replied.

"Wow, twenty years is a long time." Jayme remarked.

"It is. I remember thinkin' that ten years was a big deal. Your sisters made their Opry debut that night. I'm pretty sure that I was breastfeeding you and Deac backstage before I went on. You boys were like only six weeks old at the time. Charlie and Jack ain't even been thought about yet." Rayna recalled with a smile on her face.

"Momma, that's gross." Deac covered his face with his hands.

"For once I agree with you, Bubba." Maddie laughed a little.

"Charlie didn't come along for another year and a half almost. And Henry wasn't born for another five years." Deacon supplied.

"Maddie, I'm telling just wait until you have babies. I'm gonna give you so much hell about breastfeeding." Rayna really did owe Maddie some payback for that.

"I for one don't plan on doing that." Maddie informed her.

"I will change the subject. Cause I don't wanna even think 'bout this." Deacon groaned. He picked up his guitar and put the strap around his neck. "Who wants to hear a new song daddy's been workin' on?"

Four little hands shot up in the air.

"Alright, ya'll give me some space so I can play." Deacon moved his youngest two children to the floor by his feet and he started to play. _"She took the tv and the toaster. She took the curtains and the car. I guess she took for granted I wouldn't take it very hard. And for someone in a hurry she took her own sweet time. But it's not what she took that hurt it's what she left behind."_

Maddie and Daphne shared a look and then they looked at their mother.

" _A bedroom full of memories that time cannot erase. Photographs of the two of us that she said throw away. She took my heart and soul and left me here to lose my mind. No it's what she took that hurt it's what she left behind."_ Deacon cast a quick glance in Rayna's direction to gauge her reaction.

Rayna just looked back at him.

" _She said I've given you my best but I can't take no more. She said I've run out of reasons then she walked out the door. It's gonna take a lot of doin' to get over her goodbye. Cause it's not what she took that hurt it's what she left behind."_ Deacon caught the slight grin that crept across Rayna's face.

" _A bedroom full of memories that time cannot erase. Photographs of the two of us that she said throw away. She took my heart and soul and left me here to lose my mind. No it's not what she took that hurt it's what she left behind. She took my heart and soul and left me here to lose my mind. No it's not what took that hurt it's what she left behind."_ Deacon finished playing.

"Dad, that was different. Like it was good, but it sounded old school." Maddie gave her opinion.

"It had a nineties vibe to it." Daphne tried to clarify what her sister had said.

"That's what I was goin' for. In my head there's a lot of fiddle in that song too. It's like the stuff we were makin' back when we first started out." Deacon opened up a little about his thought process.

"It was good, daddy." Charlie told him.

"Thanks, Pistol. You think I hung the moon so I don't know if you'd tell me if I sounded bad." Deacon teased her.

"It was awesome." Jack thought everything was awesome. It was one of his favorite words.

"You are pretty old to be writin' songs like that aren't you, daddy?" Jayme asked him.

"I ain't that old thank you very much." Deacon laughed.

"He's just been writin' songs for a long time." Deac defended his father.

"Thanks, for takin' my side, Bubba." Deacon winked at him. "Babe, what did you think?"

"I think I want to know what kind of religious experience you had when you had that surgery. That's the second song you've played for me today and it sounds like my boyfriend wrote those songs not my husband." Rayna told him.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Deacon furrowed his brows.

"It's a good thing, babe. And for the record this is why I never cut any of your songs after we broke up." Rayna smiled at him.

"I never denied what all my songs were about." Deacon countered.

"What are you talkin' 'bout?" Charlie looked between her parents confused.

"Charlie, all of daddy's songs are about the same girl. They are about momma." Maddie explained for her.

"Not true Just As I Am and Route Three were not about her. Pretty much every other song I've ever written has been about her though. Includin' the first song I wrote when I met her. Maddie, Daphne, don't answer this 'cause ya'll know. Who knows the name of the first song I wrote about momma?" Deacon loved getting them engaged like this.

"Back Home," Jayme guessed.

"Nope, come on now this one is an easy one ya'll. Here's your hint this song is always in my set list." Deacon shook his head.

"A Life That's Good." Charlie came up with.

"Thank you, Pistol, that's right. I wrote that song on a cocktail napkin in the Bluebird with her sittin' across the table from me. I was taken with your momma the minute I laid eyes on her. Even though I knew a girl like her was destined to get a boy like me in a world of hurt." Deacon winked at Rayna.

"And he was the kinda boy that was destined to get a girl like me in trouble. And he did just not for a decade or so." Rayna alluded to the fact that he'd gotten her pregnant with Maddie.

"Momma how long have you and daddy known each other?" Jayme asked.

"I've been with your daddy one way or another for goin' on thirty-five years." Rayna answered him.

"You sure 'bout that one, babe? I thought it was closer to forty?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"It'll be forty years when I turn fifty-six, babe. You know how old I am now, so you do the math, darlin'." Rayna smirked.

"Aren't you only fifty?" Daphne was confused now.

"She'll be fifty-one at her next birthday, Daph. He'll be fifty-four. I think. I still need to write a thank you note to whichever one of them made me horrible at math." Maddie counted on her fingers.

"Blame your mother." Deacon pointed at Rayna.

"I won't even argue with him I'm horrible at math. I really only passed that gene down to Maddie. Babe, you used to be in construction and Daphne's father is a banker by trade." Rayna rattled off.

"Ray, read the room, babe. Not somethin' you wanna explain right now." Deacon gestured with his eyes to the kids.

"Deacon, I think they know I was married before you. There's nothing for you to worry about there." Rayna gave him a withering look.

"Alright, who wants me and Daph to tuck them into bed?" Maddie hurried up and changed the subject.

Jack and Charlie raised their hands.

"Really, Deac, Jayme? You guys are too big to be tucked in now?" Daphne asked them.

"Yeah, I don't need to be tucked in anymore, Daph." Jayme nodded his head.

"I guess you can tuck me in if you wanna." Deac didn't try to be a tough guy like his brother.

"Come on, let's go get pajamas on." Maddie herded them out of the room.

"I think we embarrass our children, babe." Rayna laughed softly.

"I think we do too. That just means we're doin' our job right." Deacon moved to sit beside her. "You really liked that song?"

"I really liked it. In my defense though. I didn't take your toaster when I left." Rayna cuddled into his side.

"I know you didn't know how to use a toaster back then." Deacon teased her.

"Shut up, Deacon." Rayna laid her head on his shoulder. She wasn't fully relaxed though. She was a little jealous of how easy new material was coming to her husband when it just seemed to be eluding her.

* * *

"Ya'll are gonna have to get out of here and go bug your father. You know how long it takes me to get ready and you ain't helpin' matters any." Rayna looked up from the vanity.

"Mom, we aren't even doing anything for a change. Also you've had an accent my whole life, but it's never been that thick before." Maddie was bugging the hell out of Rayna while she tried to get ready to go on stage.

"It's not ya'll it's just you. Your brother and sisters aren't givin' me half the trouble you are right now. And it's because I was in the hospital for a week with no one, but your daddy to keep me company. I pick up on his accent." Rayna shooed her away.

"Maddie, leave mom alone. I'm not gonna have dad come to your defense if she smacks the hell out of you." Daphne shook her head.

"If you ask Jack nicely maybe he will share the iPad with you until it's time for you to go on stage, Maddie. He's only four and he behaves better than you." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"You do realize I know I'm bugging her right?" Maddie adjusted her shirt to keep her boobs from falling out.

"You wouldn't have to do that if you didn't dress like a hooker. That's just a thought." Daphne pointed out to her.

"The more I think about it the more I know this has to be Casey's shirt. That's why it's this low cut. You're not wrong to use the word hooker when it comes to her." Maddie just laughed.

A stage hand knocked on the door with a huge vase of flowers in his arm. "Ms. Jaymes, I have a delivery for you."

"Thank you for bringing those back here for me." Rayna smiled at him.

"No problem I'll just sit them right here for you." He said and then walked out again.

"Daph, can you bring me the card out of there?" Rayna started putting her eyeliner on.

"Sure, mom," Daphne got the card and handed it to her.

Rayna read the card and teared up. "I just did my damn makeup."

"Who are those from?" Maddie asked her.

"They are from your Uncle Watty. He knows how to get to me." Rayna wiped her eyes carefully.

"He just knows you too well, babe." Deacon stood in the doorway already dressed.

"Hi, handsome, look at you. You look like yourself again finally." Rayna got up and hugged him. She kissed his cheek gently.

"I kinda feel like myself again. You look gorgeous as always." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You would say that if I were sittin' here in sweats and a t-shirt." Rayna replied.

"It would be just as true if you were." Deacon let his hand wander up her back.

"Where are my other children?" Rayna asked him.

"In my dressin' room where I left 'em. Jimmy is there too along with half the damn band. I think that they will be ok." Deacon took her hand and kissed it. He knew better than to kiss her lips after she'd done her makeup.

"They will listen to Jimmy. You're right they'll be fine." Rayna went back to the vanity.

"You 'bout ready for this?" Deacon asked.

"I'm ready for a change thank you very much. Come on, let's go." Rayna took his hand and laced their fingers together.

"Let's go get them kids rounded up and stick 'em with whichever relative is available." Deacon held out his other hand for Jack to take. He didn't have to say anything Jack automatically got up and took his hand.

"Tell me that we aren't an extremely good looking family." Maddie took out her phone and took a picture of her parents and little brother from behind.

"We really are." Daphne agreed with her.

"That little one looks more like mom than any of us doesn't he?" Maddie mused.

"He looks like your great granddaddy Jaymes and he plays poker like his daddy." Dottie walked up on Keith's arm.

"Aunt Dottie, you came." Rayna hugged her aunt tightly.

"Like I was gonna miss this. My favorite niece only celebrates her twentieth anniversary at the Opry once. I made Keith bring me down here." Dottie replied.

"Aunt Dottie, I'm literally standing right here." Tandy crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tandy, you know that I adore you. Your sister just happens to be a lot more like me than is good for her. Now come give me a hug you know you want to." Dottie opened her arms to her.

"I love you too, you old crazy woman." Tandy hugged her tightly. "Do I need to run a background check on this young man?" She whispered in her ear.

"Why do both you girls think the worst of me?" Dottie scoffed.

"Because those two are prone to holdin' people's past choices against them for a really long time. Come on, Aunt Dottie, let's get you to my momma. You two can keep each other company. Though I'm pretty sure that she's probably keepin' your brother company right now. So, that may be a horrible idea." Deacon scratched the back of his neck.

"You can relax. I can be around my brother without anythin' bad happenin'." Dottie laughed.

"Are you sincerely not usin' the kid for man candy?" Deacon double checked with her.

"No I am not. He's too young and I'm reasonably sure that he is playin' for another team. And I don't mean the Braves." Dottie gave him a look.

"You are gonna get me in trouble one of these days." Deacon laughed with her.

"Thank God he handles her so well." Tandy leaned over and whispered to Rayna.

"She's not as bad as you think she is." Rayna defended her.

* * *

"Few people who start out in this town are lucky enough to make it to the top. Fewer still are lucky enough to be able to stay at it for almost four decades. Ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce to you a really amazin' woman. Ya'll know her for her impressive vocals, but I'm lucky enough to call her my better half. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Rayna Jaymes." Deacon introduced Rayna to the crowd.

Rayna walked out on stage and waved to the crowd. "Thank you, honey, that was fantastic. You got mighty close to mentioning my age there didn't you?" She kissed his cheek.

"I should've known I was gonna pay for that one." Deacon chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"Mr. Deacon Claybourne, ladies and gentlemen." Rayna pointed to him.

Deacon waved before he exited the stage.

"Ten years ago I was lucky enough to stand on this stage and introduce two amazingly talented girls who over the last decade have turned into amazingly talented young women. I think ya'll may have heard a little somethin' about them on country radio. Ladies and gentlemen, Maddie and Daphne Claybourne." Rayna introduced her daughters.

Maddie and Daphne walked out on the stage. JC followed them out with his guitar. Rayna hugged all three of them before she stepped off the stage.

"The first song we're gonna do for you tonight is one off of my new album." Maddie said before she began playing. _"I've cussed on a Sunday. I've cheated and I've lied. I've fallen down from grace a few too many times. But I find holy redemption when I put this car in drive. Roll the windows down and turn up the dial."_ She'd written this song with JC before they'd gotten back together.

" _Can I get a hallelujah can I get an amen. Feels like the holy ghost running through ya when I the highway FM. I find my soul revival singing every single verse. Yeah I guess that's my church."_ Daphne harmonized with her on the chorus.

" _When Hank brings the sermon and Cash leads the choir. It gets my cold coal heart burning hotter than a ring of fire. When this wonderful world gets heavy and I need to find my escape. I just the wheels rolling radio scrolling until my sins wash away."_ Maddie sang the next verse alone.

" _Can I get a hallelujah can I get an amen. Feels like the holy ghost running through ya when I the highway FM. I find my soul revival singing every single verse. Yeah I guess that's my church."_

" _Hey, can I get a hallelujah can I get an amen. Feels like the holy ghost running through ya when I play the highway FM. I find my soul revival singing every single verse. Yeah I guess that's my church. Yeah I guess that's my church. Yeah I guess that's my church."_ Maddie finished up with her eyes closed.

The crowd applauded heartily.

"The next one we're gonna do is one of mine." Daphne introduced the next song. She waited for JC and Maddie to start playing and she played along on the mandolin. _"My momma mapped out the road that she knows. Which hands you shake and which hands you hold. In my hand me down mercury ready to roll she knew that I had to go. And hang out make lots of noise. Lay out late with a boy. Make the mistakes that she made cause she knew all along."_

" _I was already gone. I was already gone. I was already gone. Life is a runaway train you can't wait to jump on."_ Maddie and JC added their voices here.

Daphne had written this song about her mother.

" _They say the first time won't ever last. But that didn't stop me the first time he laughed. All my friends tried to warn me the day that we met. Girl don't you lose your heart yet. But his dark eyes dared me with danger and sparks fly like flame to a paper. Fire in his touch burning me up, but still I held on."_ That verse was quite obviously about Deacon and Rayna.

" _Cause I was already gone. I was already gone. I was already gone. Life is a runaway train you can't wait to jump on."_

"She's a damn good songwriter." Rayna leaned against Deacon.

"She hit that one right on the nose." Deacon replied.

" _The last time I saw him we packed up my things and he smiled like the first time he told me his name. And we cried with each other. We spilt the blame for the parts that we couldn't change. Pictures, dishes, and socks. It's our whole life down to one box. There he was waving goodbye on the front porch alone."_ Daphne put her all into it.

"The best songs have a lot of truth in them." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"I think she did it justice." Deacon smiled.

" _But I was already gone. I was already gone. I was already gone. I was already gone."_

" _Hang out make lots of noise. And lay out late with a boy. Make the mistakes that she made life is a runaway train."_ Maddie sang.

" _His dark eyes dared me with danger. And sparks fly like flame to a paper. Fire in his touch life is a runaway train you can't wait to jump on."_ Daphne wailed.

" _My momma mapped out the road that she knows. Which hands you shake which hands you hold. In my hand me down mercury."_ JC crooned.

" _Life is a runaway train you can't wait to jump on."_ The three finished in unison.

"For this next one we are gonna do one of our first songs. This one is real popular and I think ya'll know the words. Hit it, Deacon." Rayna pointed to Deacon.

Deacon made a wind it up motion with his finger and started playing.

" _I take a breath and turn the key. I never guessed this would take all of me. One more look at what I'm leavin' behind. This cloud of dust is my goodbye."_ Rayna launched into Already.

" _It's a long, long road to independence, but I'm leavin' you for Tennessee. I got demons ridin' shotgun tellin' me not to go, but what they don't know is I'm already gone. I'm already gone."_ She stared at Deacon as she sang.

" _They say it's easier as time goes by. Why won't these tears stop fallin' from my eyes? Letting you go wasn't what I planned. With every mile the more I understand."_ Deacon winked at her. This was one of their first co-writes together. It was about her leaving her father's house and him leaving Mississippi behind.

" _It's a long, long road to independence, but I'm leavin' you for Tennessee. I got demons ridin' shotgun tellin' me not to go, but what they don't know is I'm already gone. I'm already gone."_

" _I already turned around on Highway Sixty-five. And in Arkansas I pulled off at truck stop just to cry. And I put myself together at the Cheatham County line. And I thought about my heartache and all the reasons why. I should drive. Just drive."_ Deacon and the rest of band really played their hearts out here.

" _It's a long, long road to independence, but I'm leavin' you for Tennessee. I got demons ridin' shotgun tellin' me not to go, but what they don't know, no what they don't know is I'm already gone. I'm already gone. I'm already gone."_

"Woo, those boys still play that song like they've been doing it every night. I wouldn't sound as good as I do without them backing me. They make me look good. I have to thank my incredible bandleader without that man I wouldn't have made it so far. Even I still have to be reminded that he's not actually my bandleader anymore. He just steps into the role so seamlessly. That could be because he's used to his totally unreasonable wife barking orders at him all the time." Rayna put her hand on Deacon's shoulder.

Deacon leaned forward and spoke into his mic. "Remember you said that 'bout yourself, darlin' it wasn't me."

"Just because you know to think it and not say it, sugar." Rayna smirked at him.

"Hey, Max?" Deacon turned to the bass player.

"What can I do you for, Freakin' Deacon?" Max answered him.

"What's our number one job?" Deacon asked him another question.

"Our number one job is to make the boss lady happy." Max played along.

"Help me make her happy, Mad Max." Deacon grinned.

"Oh no, oh God no. This isn't gonna end well for me." Rayna groaned.

JC carried a stool to Max and exited the stage.

"Ray, have a seat right there." Max sat the stool down. He switched his bass guitar out for a six string.

"I don't trust you people at all." Rayna sat down.

Deacon grabbed his acoustic guitar across from her. "Now you know how this goes. No reason to mistrust me at all. I wrote a little somethin' for you if you want me to play it."

"You're gonna do it whether I give you the ok or not so do it, babe." Rayna laughed.

" _She says look baby I'm a rock star grabs my old guitar playin' it upside down. Dancin' 'round in front of our tv. I can't see the ballgame so I just wave my lighter around and say yeah rock on baby I'd rather watch you anyway. But when you're done can I come back stage and get you to sign your name on that Zeppelin shirt of mine you're wearin'. I'll never wash that thing again."_ This was the song that Deacon had been working on with Watty. It basically told their story back when they had first started living together.

" _Yeah but she's my kinda crazy. The little games she plays lord they'll never get old. She's too cute to get on my last nerve. The way she throws her little fits pokin' out her lip and bitin' mine when we kiss. There ain't a fight that she can't win. That's my baby and she's my kinda crazy."_ Deacon smiled and winked at Rayna.

Rayna stared at him with nothing, but love in her eyes. She couldn't believe she had almost let all of her insecurities ruin her happily ever after with him.

" _You Oughta see her in my pickup. She's gotta have that radio up. Bless her heart she can't sit still. Head in my lap bare feet on the windshield. Says come on baby let me drive. Now honey it's a stick shift remember what you did last time."_ Deacon's eyes danced with laughter. It was a running thing between them that she had wrecked all of his trucks.

Rayna rolled her eyes at that. He just couldn't get over the fact that she had wrecked a few trucks.

" _Yeah but she's my kinda crazy. The little games she plays lord they'll never get old. She's too cute to get on my last nerve. The way she throws her little fits pokin' out her lip and bitin' mine when we kiss. There ain't a fight that she can't win. That's my baby and she's my kinda crazy."_

" _She never lets me rest. She keeps me up all night. Known to roll me off the bed. And steal the covers off my side. But I hear wake up sleepy head and I open up my eyes. And it's all worth the while."_ Deacon put his hand on her knee. He knew that Max had him backed up on his guitar.

Rayna's eyes filled up with tears. She couldn't imagine her life without him.

" _Yeah but she's my kinda crazy. The little games she plays lord they'll never get old. She's too cute to get on my last nerve. The way she throws her little fits pokin' out her lip and bitin' mine when we kiss. There ain't a fight that she can't win. That's my baby and she's my kinda crazy."_

Deacon leaned over and kissed her softly. "I love you so much, Mrs. Claybourne. And I'm so proud of you." He used the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears from her face.

"I love you too, Mr. Claybourne. You are my very best friend." Rayna laid her hand on his cheek tenderly.

"And you are mine." Deacon took her hand and kissed her wrist.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I have some Rayna and Deacon alone time coming up next chapter that I think you guys are really gonna like. Until next time please review.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The song used in this chapter is Guinevere by Eli Young Band.

* * *

Chapter 36

Rayna sat at her vanity going through her nightly ritual. She extended each of her long legs to put lotion on them. She kept hearing a tapping noise against the glass of the door that led to the balcony that was off the room. She got up to investigate the noise. Deacon of course was nowhere to be found. He normally took care of things in the strange noise department.

She opened up the door and saw her husband standing underneath the balcony with a handful of pebbles. "Deacon, what are you doin' down there?"

"I couldn't help myself I just had to see you, Ray. You have to be quiet if you don't want your daddy to catch us." Deacon had decided to spice things up a little bit since he really hadn't been in the mood for sex lately.

"Just how did you plan on gettin' up here?" She tried her best not to laugh at him.

He grabbed a ladder and put it up against the balcony. He very carefully climbed up the ladder. "The balcony was a little high for me to jump up and scale it the way I used to get into your old bedroom, but this was the next best thing." He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

"It did the trick just fine." She giggled when he stared to walk her backwards into their room.

"I'm glad to hear it." He started to kiss on her neck.

"What in the world has gotten into you?" She got her words out around a moan.

"I was hopin' to get into you." He pressed up against her.

Her eyes went wide and a smile came to her face. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah it's definitely what you think it is." He nodded his head.

"Babe, you're back to normal." She kissed him heatedly.

"I sure am." He broke their kiss and pulled her shirt over her head.

"Oh, thank God." She fused her lips to his and started undoing the buttons on his shirt.

He shrugged out of his shirt and started to work on getting her pajama shorts off.

Her hands went to his belt and she unbuckled it. "Get your boots off now." She popped open the button on his pants.

He kicked his boots off and his pants followed. "Your panties have got to go." He worked them down her hips.

She took his boxers off. "Bed, now."

He walked her backwards toward the bed and laid her down. "You sure you're ready for this, baby?" He mumbled against her lips.

She smiled against his lips. "I'm so ready for you. You have no idea how ready I am."

Deacon used his knee to spread her legs and he sank into her in one fluid motion.

Rayna wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned loudly.

He wasted no time in getting into a rhythm. He started to pound her right away.

She dug her nails into his back and held on for dear life. She had missed this so much.

"Damn, baby, you feel so damn good." He bit and sucked on her neck.

"Oh my God! Babe, you feel wonderful." She panted heavily. She pushed her hips against his and arched her back a little.

He put his hand under the small of her back and kept her in that arched position. He trailed his lips down her neck and he paid special attention to her nipples.

She tangled her fingers up in his hair and pulled it. She was so lost in ecstasy that she didn't care how rough they got with each other.

He moaned against her skin he took her nipple gently between his teeth.

She dug her heels into his muscular ass and ground her clit against his pubic bone.

He stayed still and let her work herself on his shaft for a minute before he started thrusting again.

"Roll over, babe, I wanna ride you." She moaned.

"No way, baby. You let me do the work." He picked her up and put her back against the wall.

"Mmm, Deacon, don't stop. I'm so close." Rayna put her hands on his shoulders to balance herself.

"I know I can feel it, I'm almost there too." Deacon put one hand on the wall to brace himself.

She threw her head back and let out one long continuous moan. Without any warning her orgasm ripped through her with the force of a hurricane. All the muscles in her body went rigid and her toes curled.

The pressure from her internal muscles squeezing around his shaft sent him over the edge a moment later. He collapsed back on the bed panting with her on top of him.

"Mmm, oh, babe." She kissed down his neck and then she peppered kisses all over his chest. She paid special attention to the faint pink line that ran the length of his breastbone. That was the only evidence left over that there had ever been anything wrong with him. As soon as that faded there would be no more reminders of just how close she'd come to losing him.

He chuckled deep in his chest and laced his fingers together behind his head.

She gazed up at him with her big blue green eyes. "What's so funny?"

"I'm back, baby. And I'm better than ever." He grinned showing off his pearly white teeth.

"I can't argue with that." She folded her hands and rested her chin on top of them.

"I'm sorry I was such a damn mess for so long." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sugar, you don't have a damn thing to apologize for. You've taken care of me before. I wasn't doin' anythin' more than returning the favor." She traced her finger up and down the line on his chest.

"It's pretty ugly isn't it?" He referred to his scar.

"It's just another reminder that you're a survivor. I think it's sexy." She kissed his scar again.

"I think you're sexy." He ran his hand up and down her back.

"You're even sexier when you write songs for me." She put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply.

"With you as my muse the songs write themselves." He kissed her over and over. "Did you lock the door?"

Rayna turned her head and squinted at the bedroom door. "You stay right here and hold that thought." She climbed off of him and went to lock the door quickly.

"We just got extremely lucky. Those four little people have a habit of comin' in whenever they feel like it." Deacon laughed and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Jack is really the only one that we have to worry about walkin' in here anymore. The other three finally mercifully sleep through the night and they don't come in here unless they have a really bad dream or they're sick." Rayna laid down beside him and pout came to her face.

"What's wrong, baby?" Deacon nibbled on her bottom lip teasingly.

"Our babies are growing up. They don't need us as much anymore." Rayna knitted her eyebrows together.

Deacon pulled her into his arms. "Come here. All of 'em are always gonna need us from the oldest to the youngest. They are just gonna need us in a different way that's all."

"You're a pretty smart guy when you want to be." Rayna buried her face in his neck.

"I have my moments." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

Rayna rubbed his chest and then traced her finger around one of his nipples. "Your chest doesn't still hurt does it?"

"It's more of a dull ache now. It's gets a little better every day. It doesn't hurt at all when you're touchin' it though." Deacon took her hand and kissed it.

"What about when I do this?" Rayna kissed the length of his scar.

"That feels good." Deacon replied.

Rayna ran her tongue up and down his chest. "That?"

Deacon moaned lowly. "Feels damn good. Woman, what are you doin' to me?"

"I'm am having my way with you. You just need to lay there and enjoy it." Rayna pushed him back on the bed.

* * *

"Babe! You better be ready to go for a change. We need to get to the airport soon." Tandy let herself into Rayna and Deacon's house. She rolled her eyes when she didn't see or hear her sister right away. "Of course she's not ready yet. She's gonna be late for her own funeral." She grumbled to herself.

She made her way into the kitchen with the thought of just helping herself to a cup of coffee. Instead she found her three nephews and her niece sitting around the table eating breakfast. "Hey, there are all of my favorite nephews and one of my favorite nieces." She kissed them all on the head.

"Hi, Aunt Tandy." Jayme smiled up at her.

"Where are your parents?" Tandy asked them.

"Daddy is upstairs helpin' momma pack. He said that she might actually make it out on the door on time if went up there and made sure she was gettin' ready." Deac answered.

"That's what I was afraid of." Tandy groaned. She poured herself a cup of coffee. "Rayna! You better hurry up and say your goodbyes to him. In another five minutes I'm coming up there after you."

Jack giggled. "Momma's in trouble."

"Shockingly that doesn't bother her as much as you'd think it would. She spends the vast majority of her life in trouble." Tandy mumbled.

"Ok, the last thing that they need is a history lesson from Aunt Tandy to start the day. We need to get going. Plus, what you think was going on upstairs wasn't happening. He was zipping up my suitcase for me." Rayna came into the kitchen pulling her rolling suitcase behind her.

"That's what you're calling it now?" Tandy smirked at her.

"I think it's time for you two to get on the road before these kids get an education on things that they are too young to know 'bout." Deacon cleared his throat.

"You're right I have absolutely got to get goin'." Rayna went around the table and kissed all the kids. "Momma loves ya'll to the moon, the stars, and back. Be good for your daddy. Don't mutiny on him while I'm gone."

"We love you, momma." They chorused.

Rayna put both her hands on Deacon's cheeks and kissed him deeply. "I love you, I've gotta go."

"I love you too, I'll see you when you get back on Sunday." Deacon stole another quick kiss from her.

"Do whatever you gonna do with them just make sure that you get their homework from school if you're gonna keep them home." Rayna advised him.

"I've got it under control. You just go take care of business. I hope this trip is everythin' that you need it to be." Deacon smiled at her.

"I hope so too. Let's just keep our fingers crossed." Rayna smiled back.

"We have to go. Bucky is waiting out in the car. He's got the private jet waiting, but I really don't want to be pressed for time once we get there." Tandy consulted her watch.

"One last thing. You're in charge here while we're gone. Anything comes up throw a band aid on it if you can't handle it. I don't have to tell you what to do you know how to handle yourself." Rayna added one more thing to his list.

"I've got this handled, babe." Deacon assured her.

"I'll see you on Sunday then. You're gonna do great with everythin'." Rayna waved before she left.

Deacon had a conversation with himself and nodded his head before he turned to face his kids. "Who wants to go to school and who wants to come to the office with daddy?"

It was no surprise at all when they all opted to spend time with him.

* * *

"You with us, Babe?" Tandy looked over to where her sister sat on the plane.

Rayna was staring out the window with her chin resting on the back of her hand.

"Rayna!" Tandy called out to get her attention.

Rayna turned to look at her. "What can I do for you, Tandy?"

"We are trying to talk business. Since you're the CEO I thought you might like to be a part of that process." Tandy scrunched up her face.

"Talk away. I was just thinkin' intensely." Rayna waved her hand around.

"Ray, you know as well as I do that Voodoo Harris is the biggest DJ in New Orleans. If we can get this distribution deal done with him our little temporary speed bump will be taken care of. We will be reaching a wider audience and that's gonna bring revenue up. It also wouldn't hurt to set up a tour date through New Orleans for the next one of our artists that go out on tour." Bucky laid out for her.

"Are we in a deeper hole than either of you are makin' it out to be?" Rayna felt a little panic well up.

"We are in the kinda hole that you can't dig out of, but you can wheel and deal your way out of it. That's why you're here. You're gonna make nice with Voodoo and get him to agree to play your artists. I'm gonna work my magic with the owner of his radio station. He used to do a little bit of business with daddy and I've dealt with him before. Bucky is here just to give you a hand. You've still got a lot to learn about business acumen." Tandy explained to her.

"I get it I'm an artist I still don't know that much about running a label." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"Can either of you explain to me why this is a four-day trip then?" Bucky still wasn't really clear on that.

"One afternoon for business the rest of the time we are gonna spend in bars looking at artists." Rayna answered him.

"And drinking a lot. You promised me that there would be a lot of drinking." Tandy reminded her.

"There will be a lot of drinking. There will be so much drinking that we will have to change our names to Deacon and Vince. We just have to listen to a few acts that I want to hear first." Rayna assured her.

"This sounds more like it should be a me and Deacon trip instead of you two." Bucky knitted his brows together.

"Typically it would be. I love my husband, but I really, really needed a break from him. I can handle this one on my own. I know that this is your job and Deacon's job, but I need this. I just took care of that man for weeks. I need to be me without him right now." Rayna sighed.

"What am I supposed to do while you two are drinking?" Bucky asked.

"Honey, this is the part where I tell you that you're not staying all weekend. You're gonna go home tonight or early tomorrow morning." Tandy informed him.

"It's probably for the best anyway. Deacon is gonna need help running the label." Bucky opened up his portfolio. "We want to get Voodoo to play our whole stable of artists if at all possible. If not then we push for Juliette, The Exes, Maddie, Casey, Jimmy, Daphne, Will, and Avery. Gun to our heads we have to pick three it's Maddie, Casey, and Jimmy. They are young, relevant, and they are our money makers."

"I know where our bread is buttered. Ya'll really don't have to keep reminding me what I need to do." Rayna rubbed her temples.

* * *

"Daddy, I thought you said that we were goin' to the office." Deac looked around the recording studio that they were in.

"I think this is gonna be a little more fun and a little more educational for you than goin' to the office like always." Deacon had his guitar case in his hand.

"What are we doin' here?" Charlie asked.

"Daddy, this looks like a picture out of one of those history books that Deac likes so much." Jayme commented.

"This place is awesome." Jack added.

"I promise you that this is gonna be a lot of fun. It's gonna be somethin' for you to tell stories 'bout one day. You just can't tell your momma 'bout this 'til I give you the go ahead." Deacon told them. He ushered them into a room where the rest of his band was waiting.

"There you are, boss man, we've only been waitin' on ya for a half hour." Max greeted him.

"Max, I'm not in the mood for your bullshit today. I had four other people to get out of that house other than myself. My wife just went away on a business trip. They are gonna be really good for us today and they are gonna watch the magic happen." Deacon replied.

"We're gonna be so good you won't even know we're here." Deac backed his father up.

"Well, look at this. Then you wonder why all your children have the music bug." Watty walked into the room.

"Uncle Watty!" Charlie threw her arms around him.

"Hi, Charlie," Watty patted her back. "We ready to get started?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to get to work." Deacon nodded his head. He turned to his children. "Ya'll are gonna be on your best behavior today and maybe you'll learn somethin'. And I won't make you go to school tomorrow either."

"I promise we will be good." Jayme said hurriedly. He'd promise anything if it got him out of going to school.

" _She's got a bumper like a billboard covered in stickers of her favorite bands. She's got a handful of records that she turns to when she needs to land. She's a Saturday night parade through the street that all eyes come to see includin' me."_ Deacon started recording a new song as soon as they got set up. He wanted to get as many songs down as he could before the kids started getting restless.

" _She carries memories around like souvenirs down in her pockets. She should have let some go by now, but can't seem to drop it. Says forgiveness ain't nothin' but a lifeless tire on the shoulder of her soul that never rolls."_ This was a song about Rayna, but it was about her when she was younger. He'd wrote it sitting in the recliner while he watched her sleep one night.

"You kids pay attention to this now. Your daddy is putting on a clinic in there. You can learn a lot from him." Watty turned to the four kids that were standing in the sound booth with him.

" _For as much as she stumbled she's runnin' for as much as she runs she's still here. Always hopin' to find somethin' quicker than heaven. To make the damage of her days disappear just like Guinevere. Just like Guinevere."_

"He's really good at this." Deac replied.

"He's been at this for a really long time." Watty ruffled his hair. This was as close as he'd come to having grandchildren of his own.

"I guess he's pretty old so that makes sense." Jayme shrugged his shoulders.

"If you think he's old you must think that I'm ancient." Watty laughed.

"I don't think you're old, Uncle Watty." Charlie smiled up at him.

"I'm still trying to figure out how you're so damn sweet when you want to be. You certainly didn't get that from either of your parents." Watty winked at her.

" _She don't hold on to nothin' new for very long. Yeah she writes you in as just one more tale and then you're gone. Cause she once fell hard cause she dropped her guard. And no one gets to stay. It's just too late."_ Deacon liked the freedom of recording live with the band. It added a little something extra that he didn't get when the tracks were already laid down.

" _For as much as she stumbled she's runnin' for as much as she runs she's still here. Always hopin' to find somethin' quicker than heaven. To make the damage of her days disappear just like Guinevere. Just like Guinevere."_

Deacon made a wind it up motion with his finger in Max's direction in a signal that he wanted him to play a little louder.

" _For as much as she stumbled she's runnin'. For as much as she runs she's still here. "For as much as she stumbled she's runnin' for as much as she runs she's still here. Always hopin' to find somethin' quicker than heaven. To make the damage of her days disappear just like Guinevere. Just like Guinevere. Lean into me Guinevere. Be mine tonight Guinevere."_ Deacon high fived Max when they finished.

"Damn, Freakin' Deacon, we killed it on that one, son." Max whooped.

"What'd ya'll think?" Deacon looked over his shoulder to where his kids stood watching him.

"It was really good, daddy." Jack's cute little voice came over the intercom. Watty had pressed the button for him so he could talk to his father.

"I think that means that was a good take and we should go with it." Deacon grinned.

"We gotta go with it if it's got Hank's stamp of approval." Max laughed.

"Don't call him that his momma will have a fit if she hears it." Deacon chuckled.

"And that's why that's the only thing I ever call him." Max pointed out to him.

"Let's just get set up for the next song. I don't know how long those four are gonna behave this well." Deacon flipped the sheet music on his stand to the next song. "Just so we're clear this is why your wife is always on your case."

"I know why my wife is always on my case. I don't need you to point that out to me." Max flipped over to the next song.

"You're a pain in the ass and I'm worse off for havin' known you." Deacon quipped.

"When you say things like that to me you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Max retorted.

"Yeah, it's time to go to the next song." Deacon shook his head at him.

* * *

Hailey held her finger up in a signal for whoever had just walked into her office to wait a minute. "Ok, I will call you back later. I have a matter to deal with." She hung the phone up. "Come on in and sit down."

Maddie sat down in the chair across the desk from her future sister-in-law and JC stood up against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Why did you call us down here, Hailey?" JC asked.

"I didn't call you down here. I see you even when I don't want to see you. I called Maddie down here because I needed to discuss business with her." Hailey retorted.

"Am I gonna like this business or not?" Maddie asked.

"That little problem you had. It's taken care of. I told your mom I'd take care of it. It took some doin', but I handled it." Hailey informed her.

"How? What? Hailey, that's great." Maddie got excited.

"Let's just say that MJ's talents don't just lie behind the camera and leave it at that." Hailey replied.

"What does that even mean?" JC asked her.

"The only thing you need to know is that I have Cash on video saying that she had nothing to do with writing that song. I've presented it to her lawyer and he has wisely agreed to drop the suit." Hailey leaned back in her chair.

"I don't know what you did to make this happen, but I'm so grateful that you did. You have no idea what a huge weight off my shoulders this is." Maddie sighed in relief.

"You don't want to know what I did, so I will spare you the borin' details. All you need to know is that I took care of it. Consider it an early weddin' present. The fact that I got to wipe the smug smirk off that bitch's face was an added bonus. I will relish that for a long time to come. As a lawyer this is the kind of stuff that makes my day." Hailey smiled at her.

"Thanks, sis, you have no idea how much we both appreciate this." JC walked around her desk and hugged her.

"You don't have to thank me. Her mother is one of my oldest friends and she makes my baby brother incredibly happy." Hailey hugged him back.

"And she is sitting right here." Maddie quipped.

"Come on. I need to get out of this office. I'm gonna take you two to lunch." Hailey grabbed her purse from out of her desk drawer.

"That sounds good to me. I can always eat." JC perked up when he heard that.

"Babe, I know. You love food more than you love me." Maddie gave him a look and shook her head.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm gonna start putting the name of the songs I use in the chapters again. Sorry it slips my mind sometimes. Until next time please review.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Martin and Me by Zac Brown Band and Chances Are by Garrett Hedlund.

* * *

Chapter 37

A look of annoyance flashed across Deacon's face when he heard a knock on his office door followed by the click clack of heels on the floor. "What can I do for you, Juliette?" He asked without looking up.

"How'd you know it was me? You didn't even bother to look up." Juliette sat down in the chair across from him.

"It was either you or one of my daughters or Casey, but I happen to know that all three of them are busy with each other today. That only left you. So again I ask, what can I do for you?" Deacon took his glasses off and set them aside.

"First, you can tell me why the writers' room looks like a daycare center on a Friday mornin'. I also wanna know who I've gotta talk to about maybe gettin' a new single out. I only have three songs left to record on this new album. I think it's time to have that discussion." Juliette replied.

"Ray is out of town and I gave the kids the option of stayin' home and learnin' a trade with me. They of course picked me over school. Though they should be doin' their school work right now to keep caught up. The last thing I want is to have to deal with a pissed off wife when she gets home because I kept 'em outta school and didn't get their homework. You know that I'm not the person to have that discussion with. That is not my area of expertise. I wouldn't even know where to begin. You're gonna have to talk to Rayna and Bucky when they get back." Deacon ran his hand through his hair.

"Alright, that's fair enough. They were doin' homework when I popped my head in there. I can't believe that they both ran off and left you to mind the store on your first day back from medical leave." Juliette told him.

"I ain't really back. I'm just in here today to take care of a few phone calls." Deacon told her.

"How are you feelin'?" Juliette reached over and put her hand on top of his.

"I'm feelin' better than ever. It's amazin' how good you feel when you can actually breathe." Deacon smiled at her.

"It's good to have you back even if you aren't officially back yet." Juliette smiled back at him.

"It's good to be gettin' back to my life." Deacon replied.

Bucky stuck his head in the door. "Deacon, I can take her off your hands and deal with whatever it is she needs if you want me to."

"That would be great. She's in the middle of one of her diva fits. You're gonna need to talk to her before she starts throwin' together rooftop concerts." Deacon laughed a little.

"Deacon, don't even joke about that. That is not something I want to have to call Rayna with." Bucky sighed. "Juliette, you know where my office is. Follow me."

* * *

"How is it this damn hot before noon?" Tandy stood in the open doorway of the balcony that was off their hotel room. She was trying to catch a little bit of the breeze that was coming in.

"The ungodly amount that you drank last night might have a little somethin' to do with it." Rayna pointed out to her.

"That may be true too, but it is really, really hot. It's so damn hot I can barely breathe. I hate to see how hot it gets in the summer." Tandy looked over her shoulder at her sister.

"It gets so damn hot down here in the summer that you sincerely consider goin' 'round without any underwear on. It doesn't help though. Then you have mosquitos the size of small birds. And sometimes you let two drunks talk you into takin' an airboat trip into the swamp and you come out lookin' like you got chicken pox." Rayna informed her.

"I thank God that I didn't know what you were up to with those two alcoholics. I would have worried about you more than I already did." Tandy wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

"There was really nothing to worry about. Come on. Get dressed. Let's get out of here and go paint the town. Let's see if I can still drink all day and be able to function at night." Rayna grabbed a mini bottle of whiskey out of the mini bar.

Tandy just arched her eyebrow at her.

"Don't give me that look. I told you that I drank more than my fair share of whiskey in the old days too. The difference was I didn't do it every day and I really paid for it the morning after." Rayna threw back the shot like she was drinking water.

"You like your whiskey I like my wine. Who am I to judge you? It took me eight bottles of wine to make it through the week when I worked for daddy now it only takes me four to six. You should be proud of yourself. Working with you is less stressful than working for daddy." Tandy started to get changed.

"I'll call a cab while you finish getting dressed." Rayna pulled her phone out.

"You might as well hand me one of those airplane shots. You're one up on me and I can't have that." Tandy held her hand out.

"That's the spirit." Rayna handed her a shot

"Never mind that this particular spirit has the tendency to make me as mean as daddy sometimes. I'm willing to risk it if you are though." Tandy screwed the cap off the bottle and downed it. "Ugh, that is still as terrible as I remember it."

"The first one is always a little rough. The rest of them go down easier after that. Get to four or five and you don't even notice the burn anymore." Rayna opened two more shots for them.

"You are gonna get us in so much trouble this weekend." Tandy groaned, but she accepted the bottle from her.

"I'm gonna teach you how to have fun my way. It's an experience and one you seem to have forgotten that you had a time or two. Or was I not supposed to know about you and Vince?" Rayna smirked.

"I was scratching an itch with him. I don't mind telling you that he was very good at it for a man of his station." Tandy shrugged her shoulders.

"You wanted to try to be like me and see if you could have as much fun as I did back then. Except you couldn't go whole hog. I was actually slumming it with Deacon. Vince whether he ever acted the part or not was from your and daddy's world. He was so smart he could have been an engineer if he coulda put the whiskey glass down and kept his zipper pulled up. He came by it naturally though. Big Jack is a functional alcoholic. I don't think I've ever seen him sober." Rayna teased her.

"I didn't care about all of that. I just cared that he knew how to give a tune up if you know what I mean. How do you feel knowing that's what your daughter is marrying into?" Tandy gave back as good as she got.

"I am not gonna think about that right now. Right now I'm gonna get really, really drunk and forget about everything that everyone else needs me to be. Then we are gonna go listen to some music and maybe find a new act or two to sign to the label." Rayna lifted her shot in salute.

"Now that, I'll drink to." Tandy tapped her bottle against her sister's.

* * *

" _He was born in the woods torn from his home. Well, he was naked and destined to be out on his own. And he waited in darkness hopin' someone might see. From somethin' so rough what a treasure he'd be."_ Deacon had snuck off to the studio once Bucky had come in to deal with everything at the label.

" _Stronger than steel and wood. Seen me through the bad and good. And when I'm hangin' by a string every little thing is understood between Martin and me."_ The rest of the band sang with him on the chorus.

" _Well, he's hollow in the middle from the shape that he's in. He's either filled up with music or locked in his shell again. And it takes some fine tunin' to make him come around, but he's a huge piece of me and I'll never put him down."_ This was one of those deep songs that was about more than met the eye.

" _He is a good friend and he has his own voice. And you get what you give. Sometimes it's just noise."_ Deacon and the band sang together again.

" _But if you treat him well he will last your life long. And if you're honest and open he will write you a song."_ Deacon took over again.

" _Write you a song."_ Max actually had a very good voice when he got to show it off.

" _Write you a song."_ Deacon wailed.

" _Stronger than steel and wood. Seen me through the bad and good. And when I'm hangin' by a string every little thing is understood. And when I'm hangin' by a string every little thing is understood between Martin and me."_ Deacon played a few soft chords on his guitar to end the song.

"I think we can call that one good. That turned out better than I thought it would." Deacon waved to Watty. "Send those little monkeys in here."

"That was so good, daddy." Charlie threw her arms around her dad's waist.

"Thank you, Pistol." Deacon bent over and kissed the top of her head.

"You're welcome." Charlie smiled up at him.

"So, ya'll I was thinkin'. You've been in and out of those big fancy recordin' studios your whole life. I thought that today ya'll could see what it's like to record how they did it in the old days. We're talkin' Johnny, Waylon, Elvis, Hank those guys. This is what recordin' used to be back before the digital age took over. What you guys say? You wanna have at it?" Deacon spread his arms wide open giving his kids free reign of the studio.

"We are in." Deac jumped at the chance to get to play around in the studio.

"Why don't ya'll give me your best version of A Life That's Good?" Deacon clapped his hands together.

"We can do that." Jayme agreed with him.

"Yeah," Jack chimed in.

"You boys heard my kids. They are gonna need a little accompaniment I say we gotta give 'em our best shot on this one." Deacon took his guitar strap off and handed it to his namesake.

"You heard the man let's show these young'uns how we do it in the wolf pack." Dean was Deacon's drummer. He was probably younger than everyone else in the band by fifteen years.

"If they wanna play like Rebel Moon they gotta howl like Rebel Moon." Max could always be counted on to be a clown.

"Uh oh, ya'll heard Uncle Max. Can ya howl?" Deacon played along.

The four children nodded their heads.

"We are gonna go off my count. Then we start recordin'." Max told them.

Deacon took a harmonica out of the pocket of his jean jacket. "Get on with it, Max."

"Let's howl at the moon." Max winked at him. "Three, two, one." He counted them off.

The studio filled with the sound of everyone howling.

Once Deacon caught his breath he started playing his harmonica for all he was worth.

* * *

Rayna used the umbrella to stir her drink around absent mindedly. She stared at the young man who was preforming on stage. It really sucked to draw the afternoon slot, but sometimes you just had to take what you could get. She remembered what it was like to be in that position and the fact of the matter was she would trade places with that kid up there in a heartbeat. Things had been so much simpler back when she was first starting out.

Back then she had been free to be who she truly was as an artist. Sure it could have been that the pace of the world had been different back then too, but there was a certain freedom that came with not having to fight to stay at the top. She'd been so young and naïve. Fighting to climb that mountain not realizing once she made it to the top the only place left to go was down.

At this point it wasn't like she had to keep fighting to be the reigning queen of country music anymore. She'd more than proven herself, but then again she didn't want to retire into that good night and rest on her laurels. She wasn't ready to fade into obscurity. The only problem with that was on the road to where she was now she'd forgotten where she'd come from. She had to get back to that girl she used to be.

Tandy snapped her fingers in front of her sister's face. "Earth to, Rayna."

"Sorry, did you say something?" Rayna blinked her eyes rapidly to bring herself back to the present.

"Have you even been listening to a word I've been saying?" Tandy sipped her drink.

"No, I got lost in thought for a minute." Rayna finished off her drink and signaled to the bartender for another round.

"I said that guy up on stage sounds really good. I mean I don't have your ear for good music, but he's different and we can do something with that." Tandy repeated herself. "Jesus, you weren't kidding when you said that you were gonna get really, really drunk."

"No I wasn't kiddin' at all. And I can see what you're sayin'. I think he's pretty damn good too. I was him once. Young, eager, earnest. Another dreamer with stars in my eyes and the world at my fingertips." Rayna smiled politely at the bartender when he brought their drinks over.

"I remember well what you were like when you first started out. Did anyone ever tell you that you can't think and drink at the same time? You can do one or the other, but if you do both at the same time it's only gonna get you in trouble." Tandy advised her.

"I've heard somethin' like that a time or two. Are you my sister or my shrink? I'm just saying that I don't know what this is all 'bout anymore. I want to put out a new album, but nothin' is comin' to me. It used to come no problem, but now I'm so covered in wife, momma, and label head that there's no room for me to be an artist anymore. Don't get me wrong I love my kids and husband, but gettin' a little me time every now and then would be great." Rayna explained to her.

"I'm obviously your sister and your shrink. You're trying too hard to make it come to you. You've just gotta do whatever it is you do to get things flowing again. I don't know anything about being a mother, but I do know what it's like being married to your job and getting lost in being a wife. I spent so long cleaning up after you and daddy when I was younger that the job at Wyatt Industries was all I had. Being with Bucky was the one thing I did for myself and even then I kept that hidden from you for a long time. So, yeah, I guess I do know a thing or two about losing yourself." Tandy gave her a half smile.

"I guess I did have a tendency to be as troublesome for you as daddy was. I don't know if I've ever said it, but thank you for everythin' you've ever done for me. I know that I'm not the easiest person to deal with. It sure takes a lot of you to keep me happy." Rayna smiled a little.

"You're my baby sister I'd do anything for you. A lot of what I did for you back when you were young it wasn't just me it was on daddy's behalf. He loves you a lot more than he will ever let on to you, me, or anyone else. He has a favorite daughter and it's not the one who has done everything he's ever asked of her. He favors the one that's like our momma." Tandy laughed a little.

"I think I'm just daddy's baby girl as in his youngest and that may come through every now and then. You're his favorite though. Do you ever regret it?" Rayna asked her.

"Regret what?" Tandy arched her brow in confusion.

"Bein' my keeper, bein' daddy's right hand, not havin' kids. Do you regret any of it?" Rayna clarified.

"First of all, I'm not your keeper. No one can tame you and they better not even try it. Daddy and I needed each other to lean on in our own ways. I didn't always like the person I was when I was working for him, but I don't exactly regret it either. I would have been a horrible mother. Like I said I was married to my career and I wouldn't have been any good at it. I don't have the capacity to feel the way that you do. I'm very much like daddy that way." Tandy answered her question.

"I think you are a really great mother. You finished raisin' me whether I made it easy for you or not. I got paid back for it with Maddie my beautiful mess of a baby girl. I love you so much. I couldn't do what I do every day without you." Rayna put her hand on top of her sister's.

"I love you so much too. You're a spoiled brat and a pain in my ass, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being able to get to work with you every day." Tandy squeezed her hand.

"Ok, I guess we should probably move on before one of us starts cryin'." Rayna blinked back the tears in her eyes.

"Agreed. I think it's time for a round of shots. No more bourbon right now. We are gonna do some fufu shots." Tandy signaled the bartender over to their table.

"I can agree to that. I think that I'm gonna slip the singer my business card. It can't hurt at all." Rayna changed the subject.

"That better not be one of Aunt Dottie's euphemisms." Tandy gave her a look.

"I'm not our old spinster Aunt Dottie. I'm a happily married woman. If I even thought about cheatin' my husband would lose his damn mind. Plus, that one is young enough to be my son." Rayna laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.

* * *

Deacon felt around blindly for his ringing phone on the nightstand. "Hello?" He answered sleepily.

"Oh shit, Deacon, did I wake you?" Tandy slurred into the phone.

"Yeah, you woke me, Tandy. It's," Deacon consulted his alarm clock. "Four in the mornin'. Is everythin' ok? You and Ray ain't in any kind of trouble are you?"

"No, we just got back to the hotel room. Listen up you and I have a few things to discuss. Your wife is alright physically, but mentally not so much. She's having some kind of midlife crisis or a crisis of faith all I know is she's lost. I just watched her get drunker than I've ever seen her in my entire life. I think you're the only one who can help her find her way. You need to come down here. Rayna needs you. Your wife needs you, Deacon. Don't you dare let her down again. You're part of the reason that she's like this right now." Tandy spoke to him bluntly.

"Tandy, you're really, really drunk. Go sleep it off. I'll talk to you later. Please don't call me this late again unless there's somethin' wrong. And if you absolutely have to call at least make sure that I know everythin' is ok first." Deacon hung up in her ear.

He laid for a moment staring up at the ceiling. He stroked Jack's hair gently and just thought about things. "Henry, what kinda mess has your momma gotten herself into now?" He stared down at his son and smiled at his little angelic face. "I guess after I spend some time with you kids later on I'm gonna have to go down to New Orleans." He sighed.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Now you don't need any instructions for them do you?" Deacon had his duffle bag up on the counter and his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Dad, I will be fine. Just go get on the road. We will all be ok. You have a long drive ahead of you and I want you to call me every so often so I know that you're ok." Daphne lectured him a little bit.

"Your brothers and sister are already in bed for the night. You shouldn't have any trouble outta them. They will be good as gold for you in the mornin'. I will call you and let you know that I'm ok. Thank you for doin' this for me. Your mother and I should be home tomorrow maybe Monday at the latest. Come here," Deacon pulled her into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, daddy, be safe." Daphne kissed his cheek.

Deacon grabbed a set of keys off the key hook. "The truck and the SUV are here I'm takin' Betty. You know where the keys to everythin' are. I don't have to give you a rundown. This part I've never told you before, but there's a pistol in the shoebox on the top shelf of my closet. I want you to get out and put it in your nightstand. Elvis will let you know if there's anyone or anythin' messin' 'round outside. You call nine-one-one and you shoot straight. You're safe here though and there's nothin' to worry 'bout."

"Dad, I know I've got it covered. Mom is gonna murder you for taking her car." Daphne laughed softly.

"I'll see you later, Squirt. Have a good night." Deacon grabbed his duffle bag and guitar case and headed out to the garage.

Daphne waited long enough for Deacon to get the car started and then she pulled out her phone and called Joel.

* * *

"Tandy, we were out late last night. Why are we up so early this mornin'? You knew that I had to sleep in because there's no way my loveable little monsters are gonna let me have any rest." Rayna grumbled as she let her sister drag her into a bar.

"I know, but I heard good things about this artist and I wanted you to take a listen as long as we're in town." Tandy sat her sister down in the side of the booth that faced away from the stage.

"Whatever you say. I'm just thankful that you got a little bit of coffee in me before we left the hotel." Rayna sighed. She pulled her sunglasses down on her eyes to block out the sun.

"We can get some breakfast in a minute." Tandy reassured her.

"I think the next time I get the idea to stay out so damn late you need to be the voice of reason like usual and talk me out of it." Rayna groaned. She felt like death warmed over.

" _Here's my grandpa's old Gibson and a girl of no importance. A shot of whiskey sittin' on the bar. I used to give a damn. I used to try real hard. But I'll give in tonight chances are."_ The artist started to play.

Rayna and Tandy were too busy ordering breakfast to really pay attention at the minute.

" _One foot on the narrow way and one foot on the ledge. Siftin' through the devil's lies and what the good book says. If I'm goin' anywhere I'll probably go too far. Probably away from you chances are. Chances are."_

Rayna turned to look over her shoulder. There's was something familiar about this singer's voice. She was surprised to see her husband sitting on a stool on the stage. "What's he doin' here?"

"I have no clue." Tandy shrugged.

" _There's a lonely corner waitin' and two seats left for playin'. I'll tell her everythin' she wants to hear. I'm not worth the love that's makin' I'm better at the breakin'. A guy like me knows how to disappear."_ Deacon winked at Rayna when she made eye contact with him.

" _One foot on the narrow way and one foot on the ledge. Siftin' through the devil's lies and what the good book says. If I'm goin' anywhere I'll probably go too far. Probably away from you chances are. Chances are."_

" _Hold me like I mean it. Say 'til you believe it. And we'll see if we can fill an empty heart. But I won't tell you what the chances are. One foot on the narrow way and one foot on the ledge. Siftin' through the devil's lies and what the good book says. If I'm goin' anywhere I'll probably go too far. Probably away from you chances are. Chances are."_ Deacon put his guitar in the case once he had finished playing.

"I'm just gonna go sit at the bar while you two have some alone time." Tandy excused herself before Deacon walked over. "Take care of her." She said to him lowly.

"I've got her." Deacon whispered back. He sat down across from Rayna.

"Babe, what are you doing here?" Rayna asked him.

"I heard that my girl was in trouble and I had to come rescue her." Deacon took her hand and squeezed it.

"I've done a whole lot of drinkin' and a whole lot of rambling to my sister this weekend. You of all people should know that you can't listen to the ramblings of a drunk. I can't believe my big sister called my husband on me." Rayna glared daggers at the back of her sister's head.

"She was right to call me. Tell me what's goin' on with you, Ray." Deacon tried to get her to level with him.

"I don't know, babe. I've just been so lost lately. I don't fuckin' know who or what I am anymore. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but it all started when I had to take care of you for all those weeks. It just made me realize I'm so far from the woman, the artist that I used to be that I don't even know how to find her anymore." Rayna never had been able to hold back with him. He could read her with just one look and get her to open up to him about the things she'd locked away even from herself.

"Since I'm the one who made you lose your way or helped you realize you were lost or whatever I guess it's my job to help you find yourself again. I'll take you to every little dive bar I know from here to Nashville if that's what it takes, babe." Deacon didn't hesitate to shoulder the blame for what she was going through.

"What did I do to get lucky enough to deserve a husband like you?" Rayna's eyes teared up.

"I've asked myself that same question many, many times when it comes to you. I don't have a good answer for that, but I think we've been through too much together to start doubtin' it now. I guess that just means we can believe in each other when we can't believe in anythin' else." Deacon used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tear from her cheek.

"I guess she was right to call you then. Don't ever tell her that I said she was right though." Rayna retorted.

"You ain't gotta worry 'bout that. You know I wouldn't tell her anythin' that could be mistaken for nice." Deacon flashed her a pearly white smile.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. As you know with the song list I put the artist that did the version of the song that I used and not the writer or original artist. Until next time please review.


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 38

Joel watched Daphne's chest rise and fall rhythmically with sleep. The morning sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window caught the golden strands of her hair and made it look like a halo surrounding her head. He leaned over and kissed her softly to wake her.

It took Daphne a moment when she first woke up to understand what was going on. When she finally put all the pieces together she smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Good morning. I should warn you that this is the last thing you wanna be doing with me right now. My brothers and sister don't believe in privacy."

"We are just doin' a bit of harmless kissin'. They have probably seen that before." Joel chuckled.

"Believe me they have seen a lot more than just a little bit of kissing." Daphne giggled when he started kissing her neck.

"We are ok then." Joel reasoned with her.

'What you're doing now is not just kissing." Daphne pointed out to him.

The bedroom door creaked open slowly and Jack peeked his head inside.

"Don't look now, but I think we have company. And I think it's the little one." Joel whispered and pointed with his eyes towards the door.

"Jackie, you don't have to hide you can come in." Daphne called out to him.

Jack scampered into the room and ran to Joel's side of the bed.

"Come here," Joel lifted him up onto the bed and laid him by Daphne.

"Morning, cutie. What are you doing up? Where are your brothers and sisters?" Daphne kissed his nose. She was a little worried as to what the older three were up to.

"I think they're still sleepin'. I got up cause I was hungry." Jack explained to her.

"You're hungry? Daph, did he just say he's hungry?" Joel chimed in.

"I think that's what he said." Daphne tickled Jack.

Jack broke out into a fit of giggles.

"If you two will show me where everythin' is I will make breakfast." Joel volunteered.

"We can do that. Let's go help Joel find everything, Jack." Daphne climbed out of bed.

Jack followed behind her like a little puppy dog. "Come on, Joel."

"I'm comin'. Give me a minute to get my body movin'. I swear football pays me well, but I move like I'm thirty-five in the mornings." Joel popped his back when he got out of bed.

"So you move like you're thirteen years older than you really are?" Daphne laughed at him.

"By the time I'm thirty I'll have the joints of someone in their seventies. At least that's what my coach tells me will happen if I don't stop freezin' in the pocket and gettin' sacked." Joel picked Jack up and put him on his shoulders.

"You gotta move your feet when you're in the pocket, Joel. Everyone knows that." Jack clasped his hands together under the older man's chin.

Joel's eyes crinkled up with laughter. "Are you sure he's only four?"

"According to mom he's so smart because he is around a lot of older kids. Between you and me he was my baby. Maddie was out touring when he was born, so I got to log in all the quality time with him when he was brand new. It's entirely possible that he may or may not have binge watched every episode of Sex and the City with me before he was two." Daphne bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"I don't want to know." Joel took her hand.

Daphne led him downstairs. "And I think we just found the other munchkins at least one of them anyway." She pointed to one of the twins who was sitting on the couch playing a video game.

"Which one is that?" Joel still couldn't tell them apart.

"I'm not ashamed to tell you that I don't actually know. I wasn't really paying attention. I can't tell them apart unless I'm looking right at them sometimes. They are identical twins. When they were babies dad and I once got them mixed up and we had to compare their footprints to the ones on their birth certificates to get them straightened out again. Mom was not happy about that one. She was obsessive about their schedules and keeping their stuff color coded so it didn't get mixed up." Daphne replied.

"That was Deac Jayme has to wear his glasses to play video games." Jack told them.

Joel took Jack off his shoulder and sat him on the counter. "You can tell them apart?"

"Yeah, it's pretty easy. Jayme gets headaches if he plays the Playstation without his glasses on." Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"He may be the smartest out of all of us." Daphne commented.

"Breakfast time. We need pancake mix." Joel clapped his hands together.

Daphne took the pancake mix out of the cabinet and set it on the counter. "There's that. Everything else that you want or need is in the fridge."

"Pancakes are one of the only things that momma knows how to make." Jack supplied helpfully.

"I will make breakfast. Daphne, you can get the coffee started." Joel delegated.

"Sounds good to me." Daphne agreed with him.

* * *

"Babe, come on, wake up." Deacon tried to rouse Rayna from where she slept in the passenger seat.

Rayna stretched out her limbs and sat up with a groan. "What is it? Where are we?" She asked groggily.

"We are at the gas station where I used to buy my beer. I already gas and I thought I'd wake you up." Deacon replied.

"I don't wanna know so I'm not gonna ask." Rayna grabbed her sunglasses off the dashboard and put them on.

"You just work on wakin' up. I got a phone call that I need to make." Deacon told her.

"Whatever you say." Rayna waved her hand around dismissively.

Deacon pulled his phone out and dialed a number. "Hey, it's me. You get back to the old town more often than I do. This is a stupid question. Do you know if Magnolia's is still open? I might be barkin' up the wrong tree and that may not have been a thing for you when you were a teenager, but it was for me." He listened to what the person on the other end of the line had to say. "I thought that might be the case. Thanks much, brother. I'll talk to you later. I guess I'll see you when you get home from spring trainin'." He hung up the phone.

"That was Rhett. I was tryin' to get some info outta him. He told me what I needed to know." Deacon answered her.

"What are we in Natchez?" Rayna was a little bit confused. She knew that Deacon liked to stay out of his hometown as much as possible.

"You need to find your voice and I just so happen to know a pretty good place for you to do that. I have a stop to make before we head over to the bar. After we're done there we will go back to New Orleans. It's really not that long of a drive. I used to make that drive all the time when I was a kid." Deacon explained to her.

"Honey, at this point I'm just along for the ride. I know that you won't steer me wrong." Rayna reached over and put her hand on his knee.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, baby." Deacon flipped his sunglasses down on his eyes. He drove them to an old confederate cemetery.

Rayna leveled him with a skeptical look. "This is one of your stops on an artist's tour of self-discovery."

"No, this is me stoppin' to pay my respects to my grandparents." Deacon reached into the backseat to grab the flowers he'd bought while he was at the gas station.

'Is this something that you need to do on your own or do you want me to come with you?" Rayna asked him. She knew that he could be weird about these types of things.

"This is gonna take a minute. Come with me." Deacon got out of the car.

"I'm coming, babe." Rayna walked around the car and took his hand.

Deacon led her to a grave that was marked with a stone that said Claybourne on it. He laid a flower on each side of the stone. "Hey, pawpaw, hey, mawmaw. It's Deacon. I'm sorry that I don't get out this way more, but, uh, I got a lot goin' on. That's no excuse for me bein' the world's shittiest grandson though. I was ashamed to face ya in those last years you had I guess. I straightened myself out though. I'm a husband and a daddy now. Mawmaw, you were right she took me back. She made me work for it just like ya said, but she took me back. I'm sure ya'll know this, but that little girl she had well she's mine. Every sass mouthed stubborn mule part of her is mine. She ain't such a little girl anymore and she's gettin' married."

Rayna leaned against his side and listened to him talk.

"Let's see you have two more great granddaughters from me other than Maddie. Daphne ain't mine biologically, but she's mine in every way that counts. She is the sweetest, happiest person you've ever met. I think she may be fallin' in love with a football player and that scares the crap outta me, cause I don't wanna see her get hurt and I feel like this is the guy that's destine to do just that. Charlie she's a real piece of work. Pawpaw, you'd love her she's up for anythin' outdoorsy. She makes a damn good huntin' buddy. She's smart, beautiful, and fearless. God is that girl fearless. The fact that she has no fear scares the hell out of me." Deacon went on.

"Don't forget about the boys, babe." Rayna reminded him.

"Ah those three boys. I can't forget them. Deac well he's smart and sensitive and he feels things deeper than any person I think I've ever met. He's me as a kid if I'd been as loved and taken care of as he's been. Jayme I think he's my little rebel without a clue. He's gonna be the stereotypical bad boy when he gets older. He'll grow outta it and make a good man one day though. He's got no other choice I'm there to make sure of it. Then there's my baby Henry. Actually his name is Jackson Henry, but I call Henry and everyone else calls him Jack. I think he's gonna go to college on his momma's titty, but that's another story. He is the absolute light of everyone's life. He's funny, sweet, and so full of life. Mawmaw, he's the one that you would be close to. He likes to love up on ya and he wants you to love up on him. Cuddlin' him is like cuddlin' with a little furnace." Deacon gave the rundown on his boys.

"He's being modest and not saying anythin' about himself. He's done very, very, well for himself. He's a triple platinum Grammy winnin' recordin' artist now. He's the best husband and father in the world. Ya'll should be so proud of him I know I am. And I promise you that I'm gonna take good care of your grandson. I know that I hurt him before, but he does mean everythin' to me." Rayna spoke up.

"They know that, Ray. They both loved you. They thought that you were good for me and just what I needed to get over what Paul did to me." Deacon kissed her head.

"You did get over it. You are the strongest most solid man that I know." Rayna told him.

"Come on, I got one more stop to make while we're here." Deacon led her farther into the cemetery. He stopped in front of a grave with the last name Baker on the stone. He laid a rose on top of it.

"You really are a good man." Rayna smiled at him.

"I'm tryin' my best." Deacon retorted. "Hey, Ms. Rose. I just talked to your boy before I came over here. I know he doesn't get back as much as he should, but that's because he's so damn busy. I think that you would prefer it that way. I wanted to let you know that I made good on promise to you. That boy has made somethin' of himself. We kinda had to force him at first, but he's one of the best baseball players in the league now. He married up and settled down. His wife is a real sweetheart I don't know how she puts up with him. He's a Claybourne that's for sure. He's got three kids and he's a damn good daddy. You would be so incredibly proud of him. I am. He's more like my son than my brother. I look out for him and I way until the day the good lord calls me home."

"Ready to go, babe?" Rayna asked him.

"I'm ready. I just had to take care of that." Deacon took her hand again.

"You are way to sweet for your own good." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"Like I said. I'm tryin' my best." Deacon shrugged.

"How in God's name do you stand runnin' 'round here in long sleeves? I'm burnin' up right now and it ain't because I'm fightin' a delayed hangover and a lack of sleep." Rayna pulled at the front of her shirt. It was stuck to her with sweat.

"I was born and bred here, baby. I'm used to the heat and humidity. Why do you think my jackets come out when it reaches a certain temperature back home? I'm from Mississippi and I'm used to the God awful heat." Deacon laughed.

"You're so damn adorable. I'm so glad that you're mine. Not many men would have been thoughtful enough to not only visit their grandparents grave let alone their brother's mother's grave. You are one good man." Rayna told him seriously.

"Thanks, babe. I just thought it would be nice to stop by as long as we were here. Ain't no tellin' how long it'll be before we get back this way." Deacon replied.

"With you I would say it'll be a couple of years, but that was the old you. A decade ago you wouldn't have brought me here by choice if you could help it. You know I can still remember the first time I met your grandparents." Rayna mused.

"You still remember that?" Deacon grinned.

"I do." Rayna nodded her head. She smiled her thanks when he opened the car door for her.

* * *

Biloxi, Mississippi 1989

Deacon poured a bottle of water over his head and grabbed a towel the minute he stepped off the stage. The spotlights up on that stage always caused him to sweat out every last bit of liquor he'd drank in a week's time they were so hot.

"Babe, do you have to do that every damn time we get off stage? If you didn't so freely partake in the free alcohol before our shows you wouldn't sweat like that." Rayna opened a bottle of water and drank from it.

"With what they are payin' us you better believe that Deac and I are gonna drink our weight in beer and whiskey before we leave." Vince stuck his drumsticks in his back pocket.

"Vince, you drink more than Deacon that's why you sweat worse. I can smell you all the way in the sleeper cabin on the back of the bus. I know that our current accommodations are small, but they ain't that small, sugar." Rayna patted his cheek.

"You're probably smellin' that drunk curled up in the bed next to you." Vince took two beers out of a bucket of ice and tossed one to Deacon.

"Thank ya much, brother. Don't you drag me into the middle of this. I stopped gettin' in between you two a year ago. You settle this amongst yourselves. I ain't got time for one of your squabbles when there is perfectly good beer to drink." Deacon twisted the top off of his beer and drank half of it in one swallow.

Bucky walked over to them. "Ray, Deacon, Vince, you guys killed it up there tonight as usual. You keep preforming like this and before long you'll have a real deal and you'll be able to put an actual band together instead of just the three of you."

"I really like that sound of that, Bucky. You haven't even been with us that long and already you're getting things done." Rayna smiled at him.

"Also, Deacon, those three people standing right over there say that they know you. Do you want to talk to them or do you want me to send them away?" Bucky pointed to an older couple and a middle aged woman standing off to the side.

Deacon sat his beer down and made sure that his flannel shirt was tucked in. "Send them on over, Bucky. In the future if you see 'em make sure that they are taken care of." He did his best to make his hair look presentable.

"Babe, who's that?" Rayna smoothed her skirt down.

"You'll find out in a minute." Deacon spoke through gritted teeth. This was not how he wanted this to happen, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Whatever you say, Deacon. I'll just leave you guys to this and I will settle business with the manager. I do have your take of the door for your set though. It's divided up three ways, Rayna you distribute it how you feel is fair." Bucky waved the three people over and handed her the stack of cash.

"Thanks, Buck, I appreciate it." Rayna tucked the money away in her bra. "Deac, if you're lucky you can forage for that later."

Deacon just blushed and covered his face with his hand.

"I'm gonna go now." Bucky looked down at the floor. It was just his luck that his first real client was a horny teenager. It was even worse luck that her guitarist was not only one of the best he'd ever heard, but was also her boyfriend. He walked away quickly.

The three people that Bucky had been talking about walked over to the group of musicians at that moment.

The younger of the two women approached Deacon with tears in her eyes. Her silky blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her meager clothing looked old, but clean. She put both hands on his cheeks and her bottom lip trembled. "Oh, Deacon John, look at you. You went and turned into a man on your momma while you were gone. You don't wanna hear this, but you look so much like him."

"Hi, momma, it's good to see you." Deacon cracked a smile.

June kissed his forehead and both his cheeks. "It's good to see you too, my sweet boy. It looks like you've done well for yourself. I'm so proud of you."

"Ain't done much for you to be proud of, but I do appreciate hearin' that." Deacon rubbed his beard when she took her hands off his cheeks.

"Hello, my sweet grandson." Miranda Claybourne put her hand on the back of her grandson's head and pulled him down so she could rest her forehead against his.

"Hi, mawmaw." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers without thinking. It was what he'd always done. He didn't know it yet, but when he got older he would continue that tradition with his children.

Rayna and Vince stood off to the side quietly and just watched Deacon interact with these people. At the moment he really wasn't the man that either of them knew.

"Deac, look at you, boy. You're not such a damn boy anymore. You've damn near filled into that man body. You're a Claybourne man that is for sure." Big Deacon hugged him so tightly he was lifted off of the floor.

"Pawpaw, I missed you too." Deacon laughed.

"You take outta town one mornin' with the sun and every penny I had to my name that I could lay my hands on and you barely talk to any of us for years. We had to scour through all the papers just to find any mention of ya. What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" Big Deacon sat him back down on his feet.

"Pawpaw, you know why I don't call or come 'round more. It's easier this way." Deacon squeezed the older man's shoulder.

"Deacon John, are you gonna use your manners and act like I raised you right or are you gonna make me look back in front of your friends?" June leveled him with a stern glare.

"Momma, pawpaw, mawmaw, this seedy scraggily lookin' guy over here is my best friend Vince Grayson. Keep one hand on your wallet and one eye on him at all times. He's more than slightly shady." Deacon pointed to Vince. "Vince, that's my momma June, my pawpaw Big Deacon, and my mawmaw Miranda."

Vince shook hands with Big Deacon and kissed June and Miranda's hands. "It's very nice to meet ya'll. This guy has had my back for a couple years now and I want you to know that I take pretty damn good care of him too."

"That's good to hear." June smiled warmly at him.

"Deacon John, be a gentleman and introduce us to this young woman." Miranda rebuked him.

"This is Rayna Jaymes she's uh, she's well…" Deacon got bright red in the face and started to stumble over his words in the most adorably sweet way. "She's my girlfriend."

"He picked her up in the parkin' lot of the nursery school and she's been with him ever since." Vince chortled.

Rayna held out her delicate hand. "It's very, very nice to meet ya'll." She shot a death glare in Vince's direction.

"Oh no, sweetie, you put that hand away. Any young woman that's gonna put that look on my grandson's face is gettin' a hug from me." Miranda hugged her warmly.

"Mawmaw, please don't run her off." Deacon groaned.

"Deacon, she's fine." Rayna assured him.

"To you she's fine, but to me not so much." Deacon grumbled.

"Rayna, I can see why my Deacon John is so taken with you. You are beautiful." June told her.

"Thank you, ma'am." Rayna replied politely. The manners that had been instilled with her from her years as a Wyatt were still there. "Deacon, how come you never told me that everyone calls you Deacon John?"

"Because everyone does not call me Deacon John. My name is Deacon. I'm only Deacon John cause he's Big Deacon and that's how they tell us apart. He calls me Deac like ya'll do." Deacon explained.

"You're a Junior too?" Vince asked him.

"No, I'm not a Junior I'm Deacon John and he's Deacon Paul." Deacon answered.

Big Deacon took Rayna's hand and kissed it. "It's a pleasure, young lady. You'd produce some fine great grandchildren."

"Pawpaw!" Deacon blushed furiously. "She's only seventeen."

"Vince, wasn't lyin' when he said you picked her up from the nursery school parkin' lot. Do you and I need to have a talk, Deac?" Big Deacon gave him a severe look.

"No sir, we do not. I don't need that particular talk, but thank you for thinkin' of me that way." Deacon cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment. "Ya'll wait right here for just a second. I'll be back." He rubbed his hands together. "Vince, you're a clown keep 'em entertained and don't let 'em scare my girl away."

"Will do, Deac?" Vince threw him a lazy salute.

Deacon walked up to the bar where Bucky stood and leaned in close to him. "Listen, Buck, I'm 'bout to put you on the spot and I'm sorry for that. That's my momma and my grandparents. I need to borrow a couple hundred bucks. I wanna take 'em out to a nice dinner. I'm good for it. I'll have it back to you by the next tour stop. And if you could not mention this to Ray I'd really appreciate it."

"You wanna be the part you gotta play the part." Bucky peeled four hundred dollars out of his money clip and slipped it to Deacon.

"Thank you, you will get every cent of this back." Deacon promised him.

"Deacon, don't worry about it. I have a slush fund courtesy of Watty. You just keep writing songs with her like the ones you have been and I'll get paid back a million times over." Bucky patted him on the back. "Get out of here and go be with your family."

"Thanks, Buck. You're one of the good ones." Deacon walked back over to where the others stood.

"Hey, what's up?" Rayna asked him.

"We are all goin' to dinner. Pick any place and we will go there. The sky is the limit tonight." Deacon announced grandly.

"No, Deacon John, you keep your money you need it. You already do more than enough for us by sendin' us what little bit of money you." June tried to beg off.

"Momma, I ain't gonna hear an argument outta you 'bout this. I want to take ya'll to dinner. You just better go on and march out to the car." Deacon grinned at her.

"Alright, there ain't no arguin' with you when your mind is made up." June agreed. "Come on, momma, this boy of mine is takin' us out." June took Miranda's arm to steady her.

"I'm comin'." Miranda replied.

"Here let me help you too." Rayna took Miranda's other arm.

"You are a sweetheart, honey. My grandson is very lucky to have you." Miranda told her.

"I'm pretty lucky to have him. He's a better man that I ever realized. He's saved my life in more ways than I can count." Rayna smiled softly.

Big Deacon gave his grandson a look that said he wanted to have a word with him alone.

"Hey, Vinny, go start packin' our gear up would ya? I'll be along to help ya in a minute." Deacon looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'll go get started without ya." Vince walked off.

Big Deacon took an overstuffed envelope out of his jacket pocket. "This is for you. I know that you have to be strugglin'. I can see it on your hands. You need to save those hands for playin' that guitar. I will always see that you're takin' care of and you know that."

"Pawpaw, no, I can't take that." Deacon shook his head.

"I ain't takin' no for an answer and you know that I won't. You're takin' this money. It ain't just you that you're tryin' to take care of. I saw the way that little girl's hands look too. They are clean and delicate. She came from money didn't she? She came from money and you don't make her lift a finger, cause you're the good man I tried to make your daddy. So, take it and then I can say I helped launched ya'll's career." Big Deacon forced the envelope of cash into his hand.

"Thank you, pawpaw. I won't ever forget this. You've always done the best you could for me. I wouldn't have any of this is it weren't for you and don't you forget that. I love you and you are the man I wanna be." Deacon hugged him tightly.

"I love you too, my grandson." Big Deacon patted his back.

* * *

Deacon pulled Betty into a gravel parking lot outside of some old two-bit bar. He parked the car and got out the gravel crunching under his boots. It took him back in time. He opened the door for Rayna. "Welcome to Maggie's world famous tavern." He chuckled.

"World famous for how many people caught Hep C in there?" Rayna crinkled up her nose.

"No, more like white trash famous for the cheapest beer and the rowdiest fights in town. I paid a damn nickel per pitcher of beer back in the old days. Let me grab my guitar and we will go on in." Deacon opened the trunk and grabbed his guitar case.

"I'm am stickin' to you like white sticks to rice and hopin' to God that you can still fight the way you used to." Rayna stood close to him.

"You'll be fine, baby, I promise you that." Deacon chuckled. He opened the door to the bar.

Rayna's jaw fell open with an audible pop. "This bar sincerely has a sawdust floor."

"Yes it does and that's just one of the best parts." Deacon walked in like he owned the place.

"It didn't say it was a bad thing. This feels oddly comfortin'." Rayna laughed a little.

A loud wolf whistle came from the graying man standing behind the bar. "Check out that hot piece of ass that just strolled in here."

"Hey, buddy, you need to watch your fuckin' mouth when you're talkin' to my wife." Deacon growled at him.

"Who said I was talkin' 'bout her? I was talkin' 'bout you. Little Deacon Claybourne gracin' my fine establishment with his presence. It ain't every day that one of our local boys does good. Paul Claybourne was the meanest, nastiest son of a bitch in town. Who would have thought that he would have spawned two sons with as much talent as you and Rhett?" The man stepped out from behind the shadows of the bar. He was bulky and squat. His graying hair was styled in a crew cut.

"Fred? Is that you? You ugly son of bitch come here, buddy." Deacon laughed.

"Deacon, what the hell are you doin' here?" Fred pumped his hand enthusiastically.

"The wife and I were down in the Crescent City and I figured while we were so close we might as well swing by." Deacon replied.

"You gotta introduce me to your wife. You do know who you're married to right? I'm thinkin' that your wife is Rayna Jaymes." Fred staged whispered to him.

"Yeah, she is. I've known so long I knew her 'fore she was Rayna Jaymes." Deacon whispered back. "Ray, this is Fred Belmont the bar has been in his family for generations. This one is my age it was his daddy who used to serve me underage. Fred, this is my wife Rayna."

Rayna offered him her hand. "If you have stories about him I want to hear them."

"I've got stories 'bout him that you wouldn't believe. This kid would come draggin' in here with that old ass Martin and he would fill the place. And I see he has his guitar now." Fred shook her hand.

"I was hopin' that you'd let us play a few." Deacon patted his guitar case.

"Are you kiddin'? I'd be honored. Whatever you're drinkin' is on the house. You want this to stay low key or is it ok if I let the locals know?" Fred offered.

"Uh, I don't drink anymore, Fred. Sweet tea works just fine for me. You'll have to ask her what she wants and the other part of that is up to her." Deacon sat down and took his guitar out of the case. He wiped it down with a rag and then sat it on the stand up on the stage.

"A pitcher of beer would be great. And yeah go on and let the locals know that we're here. It's bound to get out anyway." Rayna replied.

"I'm gonna give ya'll the VIP treatment you gotta do somethin' for me." Fred told them.

"Fred, what do you need?" Deacon wasn't sure he wanted to play this game with him.

"I just want a picture and I want each of ya to sign a dollar bill for me to put up on the wall. Ain't often we get anyone that important 'round these here parts." Fred bargained.

"You've got yourself a deal, Fred." Deacon shook his hand. "Come on, babe, let's warm up."

"I'm right behind ya, honey." Rayna swatted his ass playfully.

Deacon picked up his guitar and put the strap around his neck. "Wanna do a classic? It ain't gotta be one of ours."

"Let's do it." Rayna smiled.

Deacon started to play an old tune. _"Hey, Louisiana woman,"_

" _Mississippi man,"_ Rayna answered back.

" _We get together every time we can. The Mississippi river can't keep us apart."_ They sang together.

" _There's too much love in this Mississippi heart."_ Deacon winked at her.

" _Too much love in this Louisiana heart."_ Rayna flirted with him.

" _See the alligators all a waitin' nearby sooner or later they know I'm gonna try. When she waves from the banks don't you know I know it's goodbye fishin' line see you while ago. With a Louisiana woman waitin' on the other side the Mississippi river don't look so wide."_ Deacon leaned in close to the mic. _"Louisiana woman,"_

" _Mississippi man,"_ Rayna bumped her hip against his.

" _We get together every time we can. The Mississippi river can't keep us apart."_ They were face to face with each other now.

" _There's too much love in this Mississippi heart."_ Deacon crossed his heart.

" _Too much love in this Louisiana heart."_ Rayna rubbed her knee against his. _"Well, I thought I'd been loved, but I never had 'til I was wrapped in the arms of a Mississippi man. When he holds me close it feels almost like another hurricane just ripped the coast. If he can't come to me I'm gonna go to him. That Mississippi river lord I'm gonna swim."_

They were both having a good time with that song. It had been a long running joke of theirs because he was from Mississippi.

" _Louisiana woman,"_

" _Mississippi man,"_

" _We get together every time we can. The Mississippi river can't keep us apart."_ They rubbed noses since that was the only part of their bodies they could touch with his guitar in the way.

" _There's too much love in this Mississippi heart."_ Deacon tapped his chest with his fist.

" _Too much love in this Louisiana heart."_ Rayna stuck her hand in his back pocket.

" _Well Mississippi river lord it's one-mile-wide and I'm gonna get me to the other side."_ Deacon crooned sexily.

" _Mississippi man I'm losin' my mind gotta have you're lovin' one more time."_ Rayna made a show of licking her lips sexily.

" _I'm gonna jump in the river and there I go. Too bad alligator you swim too slow."_ Deacon tapped his boot along to the beat of the music. _"Hey Louisiana woman,"_

" _Mississippi man,"_ Rayna put her back up against his.

" _The Mississippi river can't keep us apart."_ They rubbed up against each other this way.

" _There's too much love in this Mississippi heart."_

" _Too much love in this Louisiana heart."_

" _There's too much love in this Mississippi heart."_ Deacon lifted his guitar like he was Johnny Cash.

" _Too much love in Louisiana heart."_ Rayna ran her hand up and down his back.

" _Heeey-ooh,"_ Deacon did the best he could with that one.

"Well, babe, I didn't know you had that in you." Rayna teased him.

"I didn't know I did either." Deacon laughed.

Rayna put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply. She still had a long way to go, but damn if she didn't feel better already.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I gave you an extra long chapter because the creative juices were really flowing. Until next time please review.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 39

"What are you scribbling in that notebook of yours? It better not be a song about me. I know that I look like a damn mess right now. I'm hot, tired, and I look hungover." Rayna felt a little self-conscience.

"Don't you worry 'bout what I'm writin'. Not every single one of my songs is 'bout you. Just the vast majority of 'em." Deacon winked at her.

They were sitting in a hole in the wall bar in New Orleans after they had spent all afternoon in Mississippi.

"You've always been the better songwriter I will give you that, but I don't understand why it's comin' to you easier than it is me right now. Did you have some sort of religious experience when you had surgery or somethin'?" Rayna asked him.

"If I told you what happened you'd think I was crazy." Deacon shook his head from side to side.

"I've been with you damn near my whole life in one way or another. I've learned to expect crazy when it comes to you." Rayna gave him a look.

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you it was crazy. When I went under I saw Vince. I spent a lotta time talkin' to him and goin' down memory lane. He basically told me that I'd forgotten where I came from and I needed to get back to my roots. Honestly he was right. I ain't been all that happy with the music I've been puttin' out lately. It's been me, but a lighter version of me." Deacon explained to her.

"Believe it or not I don't think it's all that crazy. Who am I to say that you weren't really talking to Vince? I mean it makes sense that he would say something like that to you since he was there at the beginning." Rayna reached over and took his hand.

"As soon as I was feelin' up to it I started writin' just to see where it would lead. I touched parts of myself that I ain't seen in a long time. The songs I've been writin' lately could put every song on every studio album I've produced in the last ten years to shame. I feel like me again. I ain't this big superstar I'm the low key laid back guy. I don't need all the glitz and the bright lights. I just need someone to sing my songs to." Deacon squeezed her hand.

"I remember when it used to be like that for me. It was just about getting my music heard and I didn't have to worry about how many asses were in the seats. If I woulda known, then that being at the top and staying there was gonna be such a chore at times I would have enjoyed the easy times more. I would have relished the days where I could make the kind of music I wanted to instead of what the trends demanded." Rayna sighed loudly.

"Do you remember what made you fall in love with makin' music and bein' a performer? The moment that you knew you wouldn't be happy doin' anythin' else?" Deacon stared soulfully into her eyes. He was hoping that they would be able to get to the bottom of what was jamming her up.

"I was young. I was sitting on the edge of my momma's bed watching her get ready to go play the Opry. We were listening to country on the radio. I was struck by how pretty and how important she looked. And I just knew that I wanted to do that one day." Rayna shrugged her shoulders. "What about you?"

"You know that's kinda how my parents met playin' in little dive bars. Well not how they met, but how they got to know each other. And my pawpaw was one hell of a songwriter. I just wanted to do whatever was gonna get me outta that town. I didn't really have a plan when I went to Nashville. I was just runnin' away from Mississippi." Deacon replied.

"I guess us meeting was just a perfect storm of circumstance." Rayna rubbed his knuckles with her thumb.

"It started out as a perfect storm and it became a damn hurricane." Deacon chuckled lightly.

"I think it turned out alright in the end." Rayna smiled at him.

"It finally did. I woulda gone to my grave lovin' ya. I'll do that anyway I just don't have to do it from afar anymore." Deacon smiled back at her.

"Do you remember how on Saturday mornings we used to sit around the apartment and listen to all those old records?" Rayna mused.

"I do remember that. Sometimes we'd put on a record and just lay in bed and hold each other. Of course, that always led to a little bit more if Vince wasn't around. We've made love to Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Pride, Loretta Lyn, Patsy Cline. You name an artist we probably had sex while listenin' to their album." Deacon recalled fondly.

"Do you remember the song that really got its hooks into you and wouldn't let you go?" Rayna asked him.

"That's easy. Folsom Prison Blues. I don't know what it is 'bout that song, but it gets me every time. That one and Mama Tried. I guess that was just my life story though. I was from the wrong side of the tracks and jail was a pretty good bet for me." Deacon answered her.

"Mine was Wayfaring Stranger. I can't explain it to you. It made me want to make music." Rayna told him.

"It's funny the things that you can remember and look back on later in life." Deacon mused.

"It is." Rayna's face broke out in a huge grin. "I just had an idea that's so crazy it's gonna make the head of A and R and the CFO quit in protest."

"I'm in already. I'm down for anythin' that's gonna give your sister a hard time." Deacon grinned back.

"You are the best husband, lover, and friend a woman could ask for." Rayna planted a kiss on his cheek.

"That's what you tell me anyway." Deacon winked at her.

"Do you wanna hear this plan of mine or not?" Rayna asked him.

"Not right now, babe. I think you need to decompress and let go of work. Part of your problem is that you're stressed out." Deacon lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"I think that you have very good ideas." Rayna agreed with him.

* * *

"Deacon, no don't do that. Have you lost your cotton pickin' mind?" June sighed loudly. "I swear to my time since you came into my life the two words that come outta my mouth most frequently are Deacon and no." She glared at her ex-husband.

"You never called me Deacon unless I'd really done somethin' to raise your ire. You saved that more for DJ." Paul pointed out to her. "Can I put that in the pan now?"

"No, do you see the damn ice crystals on that piece of meat? You put that on my skillet now you're gonna burn this kitchen down. Give it a minute." June swatted his hand away.

"I feel like I need some type of translator to understand them when they get together." Daphne looked between them. June had roped them into going to church with her and now she was making dinner for them.

"I feel like maybe we need a referee to stand in between them. I'm not worried about the fact that we need a southern slang dictionary to understand what they are saying. I worry about the fact that argue like cats and dogs when they are close to each other." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"If you ask me I think they fight like an old married couple." JC offered.

"Son, we were married for twenty-five years. That kinda carried over even after the divorce." Paul explained to him.

"We were married twenty-six years and you were a mean son of a bitch for the last seventeen of 'em. A lyin', cheatin', abusive, drunk, mean son of a bitch. And I'll be damned if divorcin' wasn't one of the hardest things I ever had to do. And I shouldn't call you a son of a bitch cause I adored your momma." June corrected him.

"We weren't married that long were we?" Paul looked confused.

"We were married that long. We only lived together for twenty-five years though. The divorce process took a while." June nodded her head.

"I'm kinda surprised that a woman like you stayed alone all these years. You were the best thing to ever happen to me and I let ya get away. How did so many other men make that mistake?" Paul was clearly flirting with her. He still loved her and he always would. There were some things that he just couldn't make up for.

"What can I say? You soured me on men. I also had to take care of our daughter and our grandchild. Natchez is a small town no one wanted Paul Claybourne's damaged goods." June checked the temperature of the oil in the skillet. "Go on and put those legs in there now."

"That's fair enough. I was an ignorant, mean son of a bitch. You made a good home, kept me well fed, and you loved me. That was a mistake on your part." Paul dropped the what looked like chicken legs into the oil.

"It wasn't a mistake. Before the whiskey got a hold of ya and turned you into someone I didn't recognize you were a good man. You were a lovin' husband and father. You doted on me and the kids. Especially Beverly you two have the same mean streak. Your boys look like ya, but your only baby girl she acts like ya. You weren't all bad though. You weren't all bad at all. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you to begin with if you were." June reassured him.

"The whiskey wasn't the root of the problem the whiskey just made the problem worse." Paul corrected her.

"I know that. Believe me I know that." June nodded her head.

"Do I even wanna ask?" Maddie couldn't help being a little bit curious.

"You probably don't know this, but your granddaddy was in Vietnam. My husband came back from that war, but he wasn't exactly my husband anymore. He came back harder and meaner. He had a temper before he left he's a Claybourne ya'll have horrible tempers. But I never saw him raise his hand to someone who didn't provoke him. He wasn't always a monster." June gave her an explanation.

"Claybourne's also don't believe in mental health care or goin' to the doctor at all to be honest. Everythin' can be treated with aspirin and whiskey. If we're really in a bind we chase that with a beer. It has to be a damn miracle that I'm even still alive." Paul added.

"Case and point my father just let a case of bronchitis turn into pneumonia. Truthfully, it probably saved his life, but still that's how much he hates going to the doctor. He could be bleeding from the ears and mom would still have to force him to go." Maddie nodded her head.

"He's just stubborn." June observed.

"What branch did you serve with?" JC asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know if you could handle that information. The branch I served with is filled with men. You're just a little boy playin' dress up." Paul shot back playfully.

"Oh God, you're a damn jarhead. Only a jarhead would say what you just said." JC shook his head.

"Take a look at that." Paul took a picture out of his wallet. It was of him and June. He was dressed in his uniform.

"Just as I suspected you're a Marine." JC scoffed. It was just some good-natured teasing on his part.

Maddie took the picture from him. "Daph, you need to look at this. Dad and Rhett look just like him."

"Oh my God, they really do." Daphne observed.

"I've seen pictures of dad when he was younger and they could be twins. This was about the age that Rhett was when he came to Nashville and he looks more like him than I've ever realized." Maddie just couldn't get over the familial resemblance.

"Would now be the time to point out to you that you more closely resemble your father?" JC threw out there.

"I may look like him, but I don't look as much like him as Charlie or the twins do." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"You look like mom too. At least you can tell that you weren't found under an overpass. I don't look like mom or dad. Jack comes the closest out of the little ones to looking anything like me." Daphne informed her.

"Jack is the only one of us who really looks like mom. Dad has some really strong genes. When it comes time for me to have kids I'm screwed. They are gonna look like a cross between him and Vince. If you haven't noticed Jimmy very strongly resembles his father." Maddie pointed out.

"And this conversation has just taken a turn that I'm not comfortable with. I'm just gonna go outside and help those munchkins with the chore I gave them." JC excused himself quickly.

Maddie just watched him go. "And that was his way of saying that he's not ready for kids."

"Don't pay him any attention all men are like that. Just you wait and see though. He's one of the good ones. You give him a baby and he will be an incredible daddy. It's just gettin' him used to the idea. I know one who was the same way. The minute I put his daughter in his arms he was head over heels in love with her." June inclined her head in Paul's direction.

"I never saw dad do the whole freak out thing. He just stepped right in like he was born to be a father. Granted he does shut himself up in the music with the boys at the same time every month." Maddie laughed a little.

"At least he didn't offer to throw you a party when you got your period." Daphne scoffed.

"I'm sure he'll want to throw a party when mom finally goes through menopause. She terrorizes him." Maddie found that amusing as hell. It was the one time that she wasn't in trouble with her mother.

"Ok, now I'm gonna go outside." Paul tried to make a break for it.

"You're gonna stay right here. I'm makin' this damn mess of food for you." June stopped him in his tracks.

"What exactly are you making anyway?" Daphne asked.

"I'm makin' fried chicken. Your pa wanted that and he wanted some frog legs." June answered her.

"People actually eat that crap?" Maddie had a look of disgust on her face.

"That crap as you call it is actually good. Don't tell the kids I want them to at least try 'em. Pistol will try anythin' I put on her plate. Those boys are a little pickier. The frog legs taste just like chicken though." Paul replied.

"Pa, that is so gross." Daphne made a face.

"He thought that I was gonna fry him up a possum today. I told him that Ray may take offense to me makin' that in her kitchen." June laughed.

"Are you sure that you two are happily divorced? You take care of him like it's your job." Maddie stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"He's the father of my children. I have a vested interest in makin' sure that he doesn't starve to death and keepin' him outta trouble. That bein' said that's all there is between us anymore." June retorted.

"We get along for ya'll kids. There's too much cheap whiskey and spilled beer between us to do any more than that." Paul added.

* * *

"How long did you let me sleep for?" Rayna walked out onto the balcony and sat in Deacon's lap.

"I let you sleep for as long as you needed to. Everythin' 'round here is open late. We can get some dinner any time that you're ready. I've just been sittin' out here watchin' the people go by and writin'." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist.

"As long as you're in a good mood I thought that I'd tell you part of my plan." Rayna laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm open to hearin' it." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

"Bein' in all these honkytonks and hole in the wall bars all weekend has got me thinkin'. I don't want my next tour to be an arena tour. I want my next tour to be a bar tour and I of course want you to come with me. It's more your crowd now than it is my crowd, but I want to get back to my roots." Rayna told him.

"We can make that happen for sure. I'd really love to do that with you." Deacon smiled down at her.

"I think it'll be good for us. I also think that it'll be fun. It'll be a little bit like the old days without all the bullshit. It can be more low key. We can hit up some historic places. Billy Bob's and Ernest Tubb's. Which I know that's a record store, but still it fits with the theme that I'm tryin' to go with." Rayna rambled a little bit.

"You're so damn cute when you get an idea in your head. You're so excited right now." Deacon turned her head so that he could kiss her lips.

"I am excited. It's been a long time since I've felt this kinda passion for what we do. I was just goin' through the motions on that last album and you know it. I'd just had a baby not long before I started on it. I love my little Jackie Boy more than anythin', but he took so much outta me. I was a walkin' zombie after he was born. He was worth every minute of sleep I lost and he brings joy to my life every day, but if I had it to do over I would think long and hard 'bout havin' a baby at forty-six. I love that I've actually got to be a momma this time around, but I still want to be myself too." Rayna sighed.

"I know it's complicated. I love 'em and gettin' to be their daddy has been the great joy of my life. I just have to take time and remind myself of who I am every now and then. There ain't no shame in it at all." Deacon reassured her.

"You are a better husband and father than you will ever be able to comprehend." Rayna kissed the tip of his nose.

"You're better than I deserve." Deacon replied.

"You know that I will never agree with you when it comes to that. That is one argument that you ain't gonna win." Rayna rubbed her nose against his.

"I don't win any of our arguments. It's your way or the highway. You've taken that Queen of Country title to heart." Deacon laughed and kissed her again.

"According to People Magazine you're the bishop of country music guitar players." Rayna quoted an article that had come out after she'd broken her engagement to Luke.

"You know I don't listen to what the tabloids say." Deacon retorted.

"I know you don't. I'll tell you what else I'm excited about. I'm excited about my super sexy talent scout comin' back to work. He's really been missed around the office." Rayna bit her lip sexily.

"I'm pretty grateful to be able to get back to work too. Not only cause I have a drop dead sexy boss either." Deacon winked at her.

"I couldn't have made this label the powerhouse it's become without ya, babe. You do more for me than you'll ever know." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm just happy I get to do it all with ya." Deacon planted a lingering kiss on her lips.

* * *

"We weren't even gone that long. I would hate to see the amount of cars in this driveway if we'd been gone a week." Deacon commented as he pulled Betty into the driveway the next afternoon.

"I see Casey's truck, Joel's truck, Paul's truck, and my daddy's car. This should be interesting to say the least." Rayna grumbled.

Deacon hit the clicker on the visor to open the garage door and he pulled Betty into her usual spot. "I will be surprised as hell if Paul ain't put his fist through Lamar's face. You know that both of 'em are sweet on my momma."

"Honey, I've known that for ten years. I've just tried to block it out. Her and my daddy spend an awful lot of time together. I try not to think 'bout it. She's also really close with my Aunt Dottie. That alone is enough to scare the shit outta me. Aunt Dottie will play matchmaker in a New York minute." Rayna sighed.

"I'm just gonna leave the bags in here until later. I know as sure as we go inside we are gonna be mobbed for four little people." Deacon got out of the car and opened the door for her.

"That's fine, babe. That's a good idea actually. You still shouldn't be carrying that much. I don't want you hurting your chest again. I know that it's not as healed as you act like it is." Rayna got out and arched her eyebrow at him.

"I ain't a hundred percent yet, but I will be." Deacon replied just to appease her. He opened the door to the house.

"There is somethin' wrong with this picture here. It's too quiet in this house for all the cars that are in the driveway." Rayna was surprised that they hadn't been mobbed upon entering the house.

"That's because they are all out on the patio right now." Deacon looked out the large picture window in the living room.

"That doesn't look concerning at all. Casey has Jack upside down by his ankles. That's par for the course there. Have I told you that I think our son has a little crush on our unofficial daughter?" Rayna just shook her head.

"Oh I know he does. That's our little hound dog. We are gonna have grandchildren all over the place from him." Deacon chuckled.

"Deacon, don't you dare say that about my sweet baby boy. He's never having sex." Rayna frowned.

"You see how that has worked out for me when it comes to the girls. Good luck with that, babe." Deacon shook his head.

"Let's go out there and see what they're up to." Rayna opened the side door and walked out.

"Squirt, I leave you in charge for a couple of days and this is what I come home to?" Deacon teased his middle daughter.

"Maddie came home and I lost all control of the situation." Daphne put her hands up in a sign of innocence.

"Guys, looks who's home. You've been asking for them since last night." Maddie pointed at her parents. She ignored what her sister had said.

"Daddy!" Charlie ran to Deacon with her arms open. She was tough as nails, but she was a daddy's girl all the way.

Deacon lifted her up in his arms like she was a feather. "Pistol!" He hugged her tight. He was close to all his children, but he had a special bond with his baby girl.

"I missed you so much, daddy. Mawmaw made us all go to church yesterday. She even made Pa go. Then Pa came over after and he had us eat frog legs." Charlie reported.

"Pa went to church? Frog legs are good. Did you like 'em?" Deacon tickled her belly.

"I did. He did go. He said only cause he didn't want to hear mawmaw nag him and cause he wanted his frog legs and can't no one make 'em like she does. And Joel stayed all night here with Daph." Charlie really gave him the rundown.

"I see," Deacon nodded his head thoughtfully. He was trying hard not to laugh because he knew that she was serious.

"I'm surprised the walls didn't fall down 'round him." Rayna commented.

"You and me both. Though I think that applies more to Lamar than Paul." Deacon whispered back.

"Ya'll come here. You ain't seen your momma in days and I need some lovin'." Rayna opened her arms.

Jack got Casey to put him down and he ran to his mother. "Hi, momma! I missed you so much."

Rayna picked him up and kissed him all over his face. "I missed you so much too. Momma and daddy brought you guys so many presents."

"Didn't I just get in trouble for bringing them so many presents when I go out of town?" Maddie made a face.

"Maddie, when are you gonna realize it's do as I say and not as I do?" Casey asked her.

"Casey, don't you have a house of your own where you can to hang out in?" Deacon asked her.

"Deacon, that wouldn't be any fun. I know that I'm gettin' on your nerves when I hang out here. What do I wanna go home for?" Casey teased him.

"What are all you people doin' at my house?" Rayna posed a question to the group.

"The boyfriends like each other and they decided that they would have a cookout this afternoon. All I know is they somehow got June involved and she called me." Lamar offered.

"I don't know whether I should be thankful for that or be scared." Deacon chewed on his bottom lip.

"You may wanna be thankful for it. We organized a crawfish boil." JC offered.

"That'll do it. You've won me over. I ain't gonna complain." Deacon pretty much always just went along with JC though.

"At least they were nice enough to make the mess outside." Rayna shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 40

"Ok, ya'll, I will take the heat for this one. He's not gonna be happy, but he will get glad. He should be walking through that door any minute now." Rayna had everyone gathered in the front of the Highway 65 office.

"I still say that this is a horrible idea and he's gonna hate it." Bucky advised her.

"I know that he's gonna hate it. He's just gonna have to get over it. He can't stay mad at me and we all know it." Rayna chuckled.

"I came prepared with my ear plugs just in case that little theory of yours is wrong." Tandy quipped.

"Tandy, I suggest that we don't take anymore drinking weekends together for a while. It seems like you're still hung over to me." Rayna hid a smirk behind her hand.

"Don't you even start with me. You're the one who got the Mexican tequila Saturday night. It was all over once that happened. We aren't even discussing this right now." Tandy glared at her.

"Don't blame me because you can't handle your alcohol." Rayna did laugh at her this time.

"Rayna, his truck just pulled up. You're gonna get me fired one of these days." Rusty was still Deacon's personal assistant.

"If he fires you I'll just hire you right back. No one else can handle him the way you can." Rayna assured him.

"That's a relief." Rusty quipped. "He's comin' up to the door now."

"Ok, here we go." Rayna grinned.

Deacon opened the door and walked into the office. He took his sunglasses off and clipped them to the front of his shirt.

"Welcome back!" Everyone shouted at the same time.

Deacon clutched his chest. "Ya'll might not wanna do that to a man with a heart condition. You're liable to scare me to death. What is all this?"

"We missed you around here. Welcome back, babe." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips chastely.

"Thanks for this, but you didn't have to do it." Deacon said through gritted teeth.

"This isn't just because it's your first day back at the office. We have a little something to celebrate. It's the tenth anniversary of your triple platinum album. And it's going right there on the wall next to all of our other triple platinum albums." Rayna looped her arm through his.

"One of ya'll coulda stopped her on this one. I think everyone in this office knows how I feel 'bout surprises. I believe there was an inter-office memo 'bout this sorta thing after my fiftieth birthday." Deacon shook his head. "Well, let's get this over with so I can get to work. I've been outta of the office for a while and I'm sure I've got a lot to catch up with."

"Ya'll ignore him. He's been cranky since he's been sick." Rayna waved off his mood.

"What I mean to say is thank ya'll. You sure know how to make a man feel important. That bein' said don't ever let her talk you into doin' anythin' like this again." Deacon chuckled.

"You may be a scary man when you need to be, baby, but I'm still their boss. They are gonna do what I tell 'em to." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Whatever you say, babe." Deacon grinned. He was glad that she had gone out of her way to do this for him, but he would rather that she didn't involve so many other people.

"If it makes you feel any better I tried to talk her out of this." Rusty offered.

"There's no talkin' any sense to that woman I know that you tryin' didn't make a difference." Deacon patted him on the back.

"Alright, that's enough outta you two. Now that that's outta the way. I will let Deacon get to work. I have some not so fun stuff to do today." Rayna finally let him off the hook.

"What do you have to do today?" Deacon asked her.

"I get to sit in the conference room and address wedding invitations with our daughters, Juliette, and Casey. Say a prayer for me because I may strangle one of 'em." Rayna made a face.

"I'll do whatever you want if you just leave me outta it." Deacon was glad that he wasn't the one who had to deal with that mess.

"There is one teeny tiny thing that you can do for me. You can call the club and make sure that everything is set up for Saturday." Rayna bargained with him.

"It's a deal." Deacon didn't hesitate as long as it got him out of being in the conference room.

"You really must not want to help address invitations. You didn't even bitch about their engagement party being at the country club." Rayna laughed.

"You set this up while I was heavily drugged and didn't know what I was agreein' to or it wouldn't be happenin'. You hate the country club as much as I do." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"You're right I don't. But when I suggested that maybe the club would be the only place big enough for this her pawpaw agreed to pay for it and I'm not gonna complain." Rayna pecked his lips.

"I'm just gonna get to work now. You have fun. Rusty, come on. She will put you to work on that weddin' if you don't steer clear of her." Deacon jerked his head in the direction of his office.

"Right behind ya, boss." Rusty followed after Deacon.

* * *

"Mom, I don't even think I know half the people on this list." Maddie waved around the list of names and addresses.

"I probably don't know half of them either." Rayna admitted.

"Then why are we inviting them?" Maddie reasoned with her.

"Honey, let your momma tell you something. You fought and clawed to get to place you're at now career wise. This goes along with it. I know that better than anyone. So, you have to invite almost everyone you've ever talked to." Rayna clued her in.

"I was at your last wedding. It wasn't this crazy." Maddie countered.

"Both of my weddings were what's known as shotgun weddings. Well my first one was anyway. The second time around I just didn't want to wait any longer to be married to your father." Rayna explained.

"Mom, that's not something that you should admit to." Daphne shook her head.

"I don't know I respect her a little more for sayin' it like that." Casey chimed in.

"And you thought I was trouble." Juliette snorted.

"You are trouble and you will be trouble for as long as you live. I've accepted that about you. However, Casey is worse than you ever dared to be. Words I thought would never leave my mouth." Rayna rubbed her temples. Casey and Maddie together had caused her more than one headache.

"Casey, don't smirk like you're proud of yourself. Bein' worse than me is not a good thing. You need to reevaluate your life if you're worse than I am. You ain't doin' something right." Juliette advised the younger woman.

"I am delightfully sassy and everyone loves me. There is nothing to reevaluate." Casey smirked wider.

"I didn't love you so much as a teenager. You and Maddie were a handful and that is me bein' nice about it. How many times did you wake poor Deacon up in the middle of the night to come pick you up from some party because you were both trashed?" Rayna folded her hands.

"It's not my fault that Maddie has never been able to handle her alcohol." Casey shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't talk to ya'll when you're like this. So, let's get back to the task at hand." Rayna rapped her knuckles on the table to get their attention.

Hailey came in a moment later. "Sorry I'm late. I had a thing in court that ran over and I'm not happy about it at all."

"Hailey, I told you that you didn't have to bother coming over here today." Rayna reminded her.

"I know, but I wanted to. Someone from Jimmy's side of the family needs to help out." Hailey sat down and crossed her legs.

"You're more than welcome to help even though you don't have to. Grab a part of the list and get to work. We've been at this for a long time." Rayna replied.

"Mom, who is Ridge Claybourne? And more importantly who names their kid that?" Maddie studied her portion of the list.

"That's your Pa's nephew. And don't ask that question. They are from Mississippi. Like Texas Mississippi is kinda its own country." Rayna answered her.

"Hey, I take offense to that. I'm from Texas." Hailey objected.

"You just made my point for me. Your brother may have come from a different planet all together though. That man was ten types of crazy." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"And you're marryin' your daughter off to the fruit of his loins. Although I took pains to make sure that Jimmy didn't turn out like Vince. I loved him, but he had his issues." Hailey replied.

"Can we please not refer to my fiancé in those terms? It's skeevy and pervy and it brings up things that I don't want to think about." Maddie groaned.

"How do you ever plan on havin' kids?" Hailey gave her a look.

"I don't want to think about that either. If I think about that it's just gonna ruin something that I enjoy very much." Maddie covered her face with her hands.

"If anyone is havin' any trouble followin' along with the conversation she's talkin' 'bout sex." Casey volunteered helpfully.

"Thank you, Casey. If I ply you with a twelve pack will you shut up and stuff envelopes for a little while?" Rayna bargained with her.

"Make it a case and we have a deal." Casey replied.

"You have yourself a deal." Rayna picked up her phone. "Rusty, send someone out for a case of beer. I need Casey to shut the hell up for a minute. Unless the PAs have been keeping a stash again. Thank you." She sat the phone back in the cradle.

"You let them drink on the clock around here? If that's the case I need to rethink my line of work." Juliette raised her eyebrow.

"No I don't let it happen. It happens behind my back and I pretend like I don't know about it. And they don't actually drink on the clock so to speak they drink on their lunch break." Rayna corrected her.

"You might need to tell Aunt Tandy that drinking on lunch breaks is frowned upon." Daphne joked.

"I won't tell her anything of the sort. Even I can admit she's actually the one who runs things around here. She gets to do whatever the hell she wants to do." Rayna didn't feel like getting into it with her sister if she could help it.

"At this point I rather sit through another of her lectures about keeping costs down than do this. Is that an option at this point?" Maddie asked hopefully.

"That can always be arranged she loves to lecture, but it's not gonna get you outta doing this." Rayna shot that idea down.

"I should have known that you were gonna say that. You ruin all my fun." Maddie pouted.

"Maddie, this is for you. There's no way she's gonna let you out of this, but it was a great try." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Daphne, I will have my big mouthed friend spill the dirt that she knows on you. I'm just waiting for the opportune time." Maddie threatened. She loved that she had one good piece of dirt that she could hold over her sister's head.

"I'm tired of you threatening me with it so I will tell on myself. Mom, I slept with Jeff numerous times." Daphne called her sister's bluff.

"Daphne, you know I know that and I'm pretending that I don't know it. If I don't know that then I don't have to address it. If I don't speak of it then I don't have to keep your dad from killing him every time we see him at the stadium. Your dad wasn't supposed to tell you that we knew. They had him so loopy in that damn hospital that he didn't know what planet he was on though." Rayna rattled off.

"You slept with Jeff?" Juliette looked at her incredulously.

"I did. It was one of those things. I can't explain it. I don't even understand it." Daphne shrugged her shoulders. "How did you and dad know?"

"Let's just say when you leave your phone laying around at home Jack has a tendency to pick it up and he knows the code to unlock it. He can read not very well yet, but he can still read. There were some very questionable texts on your phone. That's how we know." Rayna explained.

"I won't even ask what you saw. I don't want to know. That is just embarrassing." Deacon groaned.

"Good because I don't want to go into details." Rayna retorted.

"Wouldn't your life be so much simpler if you didn't have daughters?" Hailey asked her.

"Yes. My boys may do every daredevil thing in the book, but they don't give me near the problems that my girls do." Rayna nodded her head.

"I know the feeling." Hailey agreed with her.

"The grown ones obviously cause me more trouble than the nine-year-old does. And boy do I know that I'm in for it with her. That one is truly Deacon Junior. I dread her teenage years." Rayna laughed a little.

"Geeze, Daph, do you hear how she talks about us? You'd think we were the world's worst daughters or something." Maddie bit her lip.

"Maddie, you do realize that you're a close personal relative of Satan don't you?" Daphne arched her eyebrow.

"You're my sister what does that make you?" Maddie countered.

"You're aware that we have…" Daphne started to say.

"Don't finish that sentence, Daphne. You both came from the same place and I'm reasonably sure that your Pawpaw is Satan. I'm not even joking about that." Rayna cut her off.

"One thing I think we can agree on today. I hate it when she says that." Daphne groaned.

"I do agree. It gives me those thoughts that I don't want to have." Maddie made a face. "Let's just get back to stuffing these envelopes. Right now I want her to stop talking as much as she wants Casey to stop talking."

"Don't drag me into this. I've been quiet since she bribed me with beer." Casey put her hands up in a sign of surrender.

"She's gonna put a contract out on all of your lives one of these days and I'll get her off on the charges." Hailey shook her head at them.

"I'm tryin' really hard to be an adult right now, but the way you phrased that is makin' it difficult." Juliette tried to stifle a laugh.

"I've been married to Max twenty some odd years now and I've been a lawyer for all those years. He still giggles like a prepubescent boy when I say that I got my client off on the charges against them. It never fails." Hailey pinched the bridge of her nose.

"If I didn't know any better I would swear that this group is a bunch of teenagers." Rayna gave her a sympathetic look.

"Like I said if you want to put a hit out on them I will gladly represent you if you get caught." Hailey repeated.

"If I didn't have your brother killed I think I can deal with them. There were times that I would have really liked to kill him with my bare hands." Rayna assured her.

"I told you that momma used to tell him and Bobby that she brought them into this world and she'd take them out of it. I didn't understand why until I had kids." Hailey laughed.

"Locking yourself in the bathroom for an hour works better and you don't have to worry about prison time." Rayna added.

Deacon tapped on the glass and gestured for her to come outside.

"What do you need, sugar?" Rayna asked him.

"It's not what I need. You looked like you could use a rescue. What do you say you leave Hailey in charge of the savages and you come to lunch with me?" Deacon suggested.

"Only if we head over to the Mile Marker so when I tell them I'm going out for a working lunch it isn't a lie." Rayna countered.

"It's a deal." Deacon agreed quickly.

"I've gotta go do some work today. Hailey, you're in charge don't let the smart ass blonde or the smart ass brunette who was just bribed with a case of beer get outta hand." Rayna stuck her head in the door and made a hasty retreat. "Come on, let's go now. I'm not even gonna bother to grab my purse. I've been dodging my sister for days on something she wants me to read some really boring business proposal."

"We own the damn bar you don't need it." Deacon took her hand and led her out.

"You are my knight in rusty pickup truck. I really needed out of that room. Our daughter brought up the thing that I'm trying to pretend didn't happen. If I have to address it my head will explode. We all know that if I address the situation it won't be pretty." Rayna squeezed his hand tighter.

"I'll always come to your rescue. I happened to be walkin' by to go make copies and I saw that it looked intense." Deacon laughed.

"Intense is not a strong enough word. Juliette and Casey are bad enough on their own together it's a train wreck." Rayna sighed.

"Let's play a game called let's see how many invitations they can get done in two hours." Deacon suggested.

"I have no problem with that. I'm gonna let Maddie take care of her own wedding for a little while." Rayna agreed with him.

* * *

"Do you wanna explain to me how lunch turned into let's sneak into the part of town we moved out of thirty years ago to do God knows what?" Rayna looked over at Deacon from the passenger side of his truck.

"We are lettin' our grown children be our grown children and we are doin' somethin' for you." Deacon parked his truck at the curb.

"I swear if I get mugged because you and Vince used to buy drugs here or something I will not be happy." Rayna frowned at him.

"Vince didn't buy his drugs here. He bought his drugs on the other side of town." Deacon retorted without thinking about it.

"You swore to me on stack of bibles that you didn't know anything about him and his stash." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"I also looked you in the eye I don't know how many times and told you I hadn't been drinkin'. I was a drunk I was a great liar. You're surprised that I lied about knowin' 'bout Vince's habits? And you're not allowed to get mad at me for it now. You admittedly still get to yell at me 'bout Tijuana, but not 'bout this." Deacon gave her a look.

"Alright, tell me what we're doing here. I will put this off until later." Rayna relented.

"What should my middle name be?" Deacon asked her. She knew exactly what he meant by that.

"I know a guy. That should be your middle name. Come on, show me what we're doing here." Rayna rolled her eyes. She knew it would probably be worth her while, but she didn't exactly trust his judgment on some things either.

"Put your weddin' ring in your pocket. This isn't the best part of town." Deacon got out of the truck.

"You're kiddin' me right? Deacon John, you better be kiddin' me." Rayna still started to take her ring off.

"Ray, I'm kiddin'. I come over here after dark sometimes." Deacon laughed and opened the door for her.

"You are an ass when you want to be." Rayna got out and took his hand.

"Come on, this isn't anythin' crazy." Deacon put his arm around her shoulders. He walked her up the sidewalk to a house and knocked on the door. "Roxy, Trixie, I know at least one of ya'll is here open the door."

"Deacon, these better not be strippers." Rayna grumbled.

"They ain't strippers." Deacon laughed.

A dark-haired woman in her forties opened the door wearing cutoffs and a tank top with a flannel thrown over it. "Freakin' Deacon, what are you doin' here?" She hugged him.

"Since when do you hug me? I expect a boot in the ass from ya not a warm welcome, Roxy." Deacon laughed.

"Since it's been a while. I figure that entitles you to at least a little niceness." Roxy replied.

"At least I know you ain't had a personality transplant." Deacon retorted.

"What are you doin' here? You don't come by unannounced unless you want somethin'." Roxy put her hands on her hips.

"I need a little help that only you and your partner in crime can provide." Deacon answered her.

"The last time you had a problem that only we could help with you ended up helpin' us. I suppose that we could help you out this time. Maybe if you remember your manners though." Roxy looked pointedly at Rayna.

"Sorry, where's my head at? Roxy Turner, this is my wife Rayna. Ray, this is Roxy." Deacon introduced them.

"You don't need to introduce me to a legend I know who your wife is. You just need to mind your manners." Roxy offered Rayna her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Rayna shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." Roxy replied. "Ya'll come on in."

"I'm not comin' I'm droppin' this one off. I'll be back to get her later. Ya'll need to work without me around." Deacon took a step back.

"Deacon, where are you going?" Rayna asked him.

"I'm goin' back to the office to deal with our daughter's weddin'. You are gonna go in there and do somethin' for yourself. It's my turn to take care of stuff, babe. I'm better now. Let me handle this." Deacon took her face in her hands and kissed her.

"You come in we will take care of ya. He's just a distraction anyway." Roxy waved her inside.

"Deacon, I swear to you if this is like that time in Austin I will murder you." Rayna pointed a threatening finger in his direction.

"This isn't like that time in Austin. You wanna write a new album. I brought you to songwriters who know how to go where you wanna go. I can try to help you get there, but we both know it's gonna end up with us in a cold war." Deacon explained to her.

"I am gonna trust you and so help me God, Deacon. If this is one of your kooky ideas you will see the Wyatt side of me. We both know that you don't want that." Rayna warned him.

"I promise you that it will be worth it." Deacon assured her.

"I'll see you later then." Rayna blew him a kiss.

"See you later, babe." Deacon blew a kiss back at her and went back to the truck.

"Now that he's gone we can get somethin' done." Roxy said.

Rayna looked her up and down. "My husband certainly has a type doesn't he?"

"Deacon Claybourne is undoubtedly a very good lookin' man, but he's not my type. I picked him up in Tootsie in the fall of ninety-eight and I've been stuck with him ever since. That was the most heartbroken sad sack son of a bitch I've ever seen in my life. The songs that came out of him when he wasn't on a bender were heart breakin'. It didn't even get any better after he got back from rehab either. He spent many a night on our couch." Roxy corrected her.

"That was a pretty dark time for me too. I thought for sure that I was gonna lose him. That's why I let him go. I hate to say it, but that's why we're so solid now. We were both ready." Rayna replied.

"I know more about you than I wanna know. He's a one tune pony. You two are so wrapped up in each other that I don't even know how either of you know who you are apart. I think that's somethin' that you need to explore." Roxy told her.

"You're not the first person to suggest something like that. For as long as I've known him Deacon and I have been Deacon and I in one way or another. To unravel where he ends and where I begin would be impossible. I don't know how to even begin to try. I don't know if I want to try." Rayna took a seat.

"I think if you want to find yourself as an artist you have to find who you are outside of him. Outside of bein' his wife and bein' the mother of his children. You need to get back that part of you that you lost to him. To love someone is to give a huge chunk of yourself to them. That's all right and good, but you have to remember not to lose that part of yourself." Roxy sat down across from her.

"That's the part of the lesson that I've yet to learn. I went right from my father's house to my boyfriend's house. From there I went to my husband's house and I became a mother. I got divorced and didn't give myself a moment to breathe. I jumped into an engagement and right into another marriage and pregnancy. I'm gonna be someone's wife and momma for the rest of my life, but there has to be a part left over for me." Rayna leaned forward with her elbows on her knees.

"That is the riddle that we are faced with as women. We give all that we have to our families and forget to hold a little back for ourselves. Now we have to figure out how to get that back and how to reflect that in your music." Roxy rubbed her hands together.

"Babe, who are you in here talking to? Or are you having one of your artistic moments?" A female voice called from the kitchen.

"Come in here a minute, darlin'. You're gonna want in on this one." Roxy called back.

"Is this another one of Claybourne's charity cases? I told you to tell him the next time he needs a favor that we are gonna need something in return. That man is so damn needy. He's given us his father, his sister, and some still wet behind the ears kid to work with." The other woman walked into the room. She had blonde streaks in her chestnut colored hair.

"I agree, but damn he wrote some great songs with us back in the old days." Roxy replied.

The other woman stopped in her tracks and looked shocked when she saw Rayna sitting there. "Baby, you are aware who's in our living room right now aren't you? I'm not seeing things am I? If I'm not seeing things then I think we may owe Claybourne for this one."

"Babe, we owe Claybourne for this one." Roxy told her. "Rayna Jaymes, meet my incredibly adorable, but clueless wife Trina Murphy. Or as Deacon calls her Trixie."

"That's why my husband isn't your type." Rayna finally connected those dots. "Trina, it's very nice to meet you. I apologize on my husband's behalf for anything that he's ever done wrong." She offered her hand.

"You don't have to apologize for him. We love him to death he's a good guy. And you can put that hand away with as much as he talks about you I feel like I know you already. We're gonna hug." Trina opened her arms.

Rayna laughed and hugged her. "Me and that man are quite taken with each other if you ain't noticed."

"We've noticed. Everythin' he writes is about you in one way or the other. Like I said we are gonna work on gettin' just a bit of separation between you two. Maybe just maybe we will fix whatever is broken with ya and then you can go back to him and do what you two do best together." Roxy added.

"Wait a minute Roxane Tuner and Katrina Murphy. You guys are the collaborators on a ton of the songs that Deacon sold to other artists." Rayna had an Eureka moment.

"Guilty as charged." Trina raised her hand.

"We've also worked with a lot of your artists. When they get really stuck and he doesn't know what to do with them he sends them here. He tried sending us your oldest daughter, but she's way too much like him to listen to what we had to say." Roxy informed her.

"That sounds like my Maddie." Rayna chuckled.

"Before we delve into it I have just one question to ask." Roxy looked at Trina. "Why are you back from the publishin' house this early?"

"Ask your son when he gets home. All you need to know a group of teenage boys together will always be a recipe for stupid ass ideas and I want to ground that boy for the rest of his natural life." Trina fumed.

"You can't ground him for the rest of his life. If you do that he will be here with us and we will have to deal with him. Him and the other two in this house together all the time not what we want." Roxy pointed out to her.

"You two are scaring the holy hell out of me. I've dealt with two teenage girls I've been a teenage girl that I can handle. My boys are quickly approaching that stage. I figure I've got another year or year at a half at best before they start to make the transition on me." Rayna's eyes got big.

"Yeah, let's just sit down and try to write somethin'. Writin' a song is much easier than parentin'. It's a walk in the park in comparison. I rather crank out ten songs a day than listen teenage boy angst." Roxy sighed.

"I couldn't agree more with that. I'm gonna get hit with a double whammy. I'm workin' on gettin' my little one to stay that way forever. He should always smell like dirt and chocolate chip cookies." Rayna nodded.

"Ok, here we go. Pens, paper, and tequila." Trina sat all those items on the coffee table.

"Damn, ya'll don't play around. I think I know why Deacon dropped me off here now." Rayna grinned.

"We are gonna start simple. A badass feminist power ballad. I think we all have one of those in us." Roxy announced.

"I'm in. Let's go for it." Rayna picked up a pen and a pad of paper. As usual her husband hadn't steered her wrong.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We're getting closer to the wedding and Rayna is getting into rediscovering herself. I'm still going strong with this story and I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon we all need this. Until next time please review.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 41

"Rayna, the way I see it your problem isn't talent. Your problem is you're so wrapped up in bein' a wife and momma that you have stifled the fierce bitch inside yourself. And in this case I don't mean bitch in a bad way. Bein' a badass bitch is a great thing. Bein' a badass bitch is what keeps men from walkin' all over us." Roxy passed her judgement on the song they had just written.

"Thank you, ya'll are really talented too. And you have really great tequila." Rayna did a shot.

"Tequila and a little something of the plant variety are what help Roxy get through the day. If my wife didn't smoke pot I don't think I would be able to handle her." Trina rolled her eyes.

"I use wine to block out my husband and children. That sadly doesn't work they all have these unbelievably strong personalities. When they start to get to me I focus on how damn adorable they are together. Just when I thought Deacon couldn't get any sexier I gave him those kids and it happened. All I have to do is hand him his guitar and he has their attention for at least an hour and a half. It's blissfully wonderful and I thank the good lord every day for the fact that those children are so damn taken with him." Rayna sighed in contentment.

"I had that once and then they grew up. They grew up and they became monsters. I don't understand what happens once they become teenagers, but they turn into horrible people. Horrible people who I want to strangle with my bare hands. Tell me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel." Roxy begged her.

"Let's see before my oldest turned seventeen she ran away, tried to get emancipated, and had a judge throw her out into the world for two weeks to see how she would fare on her own. My good one turned twenty-one and decided that it would be a good idea to have biblical relations with a man who may possibly be Satan, has numerous marriages under his belt, and oh by the way is old enough to be her father. Those girls kill me. More accurately they make me wanna commit homicide. I can't promise you that it ever gets any easier. The only thing I can promise you is no matter what they do you're just gonna love 'em more for it." Rayna replied.

"Sings like an angel, writes amazing songs, and is quite possibly mother of the year. Honey, we really have to step up our game. We pay our oldest to keep the other two away so we can have some peace." Trina took a shot.

"I'm not that great. I use my oldest two as babysitters all the time and I don't pay them. I never have. My son-in-law is great at being a babysitter. I don't even have to ask and he takes care of them. I also steal their Halloween candy. It's one of my small joys in life I take 'em where I can find 'em." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, darlin', someone went and domesticated you. What you need to do is find that fearless, reckless part of you. Until you find her you're not gonna get back to the kinda music you wanna make. Take away the wife part, take away the momma part, take away the label head part strip it all down to that wild untamed part of you that came out in your early work. You need to feel the joy again and find some enjoyment in your music. You have to stop goin' 'bout this like it's a chore." Roxy advised her.

"I would love to do that, but it's easier said than done. I've been doin' this for a really long time and now it is a job. The joy is absolutely gone. It's not 'bout that music anymore it's 'bout stayin' current. I'm competing with these wet behind the ears kids who wouldn't know country music from a fart. I don't even know what they call this crap. My kids don't even listen to that kinda music. Mostly because their father has banned that from his truck durin' carpools. It makes my ears wanna bleed when I hear it. I dread gettin' demos I never know what I'm gonna get." Rayna put her hands over her face.

"I don't disagree with you. And we know all about Deacon's dislike of what passes for music now. He gives us a dissertation on it every time we see him." Trina laughed.

"Oh he loathes Taylor Swift. This isn't 'bout him right now. We are focused on the woman who has the misfortune of bein' married to him." Roxy pointed at Rayna. "You need to find the joy again. When did you know? There is a moment in everyone's life when they know what they want to do with their lives. So why music and when did you know?"

"I've always loved music. I used to sit on my momma's bed and watch her get ready to go out and preform. She would always have the radio on. I learned everythin' I knew 'bout music at the time that way. I was twelve when I knew. She wasn't finished and she had more to give the world. The last thing I said to her before they lowered her coffin into the ground was that I was gonna do my best to do her memory justice. That's what drove me to be that untamed reckless, willfully disobedient artist that I became. I was a force of nature. Somewhere along the way in all the other bullshit I lost that." Rayna answered.

"That. That right there is your answer. That is what you have to find again. You have to grab that passion with both hands and not let it slip through your fingers again. You're an artist the thing that you have to remember is that it's ok for you to be a little selfish sometimes. To be good at what we do there has to be little selfishness in there." Trina advised her.

"Did Deacon send me here to write songs or for therapy?" Rayna questioned.

"Smokey the Bear over there is a licensed therapist and former bartender. I used to be a lawyer in another life, but then the songwriting thing really took off and we decided to stick with that. I know just enough law to be dangerous and she likes to shrink random people. It's a win-win situation." Trina responded.

"I can't thank ya'll enough for takin' the time to work with me like this. I'm sure that you have better things to do than deal with an agin' diva who is havin' an identity crisis." Rayna rubbed the center of her forehead.

"You're Rayna Jaymes this isn't work. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and no matter how many favors Deacon has asked of us over the years we weren't turnin' this one down. He's done us a lot of favors too though." Roxy smiled at her.

"Speakin' of my husband. I've been here for a while now. I should probably call him to come get me. I have a feelin' that he's gonna wanna kill me for leavin' him alone with our bridezilla of a daughter. I feel just a little bad for that even though it was his idea." Rayna poured another shot of tequila before she texted Deacon.

"I would love to know what it's like to have daughters. We have three boys. That dirt and chocolate chip cookie smell you were talking about earlier sadly doesn't last. They get mean and they get surly. Painted up bimbos who have no business talking to my little boys like to throw themselves at them." Trina snarled.

"I have three boys too, but I'm sure you already knew that. My husband is one proud daddy." Rayna replied.

"That reminds me you need to pay Deacon's usual toll. I need to see some pictures of those babies." Roxy held her hand out for Rayna's phone.

Rayna pulled up a picture on her phone and held it so Roxy and Trina could see it. "I'm sure I don't even have to explain to you who the two young gentlemen with my daughters are. They have their ugly mugs all over the local news all the time."

"Your daughters are all gorgeous, but that little one is gonna be the one who gives you fits. She looks so much like her daddy. She has those broody smoldering good looks like he does. She's gonna have some boyfriends that put him in jail for the night. And that sweet little boy is your spitting image. He is the kind that you wanna wrap up and protect from the evil women in this world." Trina smiled.

"I hate to break this to you, but one of your twins is gonna attract the women that you want nowhere near him and he's gonna like it. He's probably gonna have quite a few women come after him sayin' he's the daddy." Roxy didn't hold back.

"My Jayme is gonna be a manwhore I've resigned myself to that fate. My Deac is way too sweet for that. I can count my sex partners on one hand I don't even dare ask Deacon his number. I'm scared to know. I don't even want to think about it. I'm gonna go to my happy place on that one." Rayna took her phone back. "Now one of ya'll show me a picture."

Trina pulled up a picture on her phone. "Those are our three boys. I gave birth to the first one and princess carried the other two."

"Now those are three damn good lookin' boys. How old is your youngest?" Rayna smiled softly.

"He's ten and the last thing his Uncle Deacon told him was to stay away from his daughter." Roxy laughed.

"Oh yeah, I've never seen a man adore his son-in-law the way he does Maddie's fiancé. He even likes Daphne's new boyfriend. His baby girl however is never allowed to look at a boy that she's not related to. And she has two older brothers that poor child is never datin'." Rayna shook her head.

"Oh yeah, it's never gonna happen." Trina agreed.

"Can I ask how ya'll got together?" Rayna asked them.

"Deacon actually introduced us. For as open minded as he is I was shocked when I found out he's from Mississippi. He still surprises me with how ok he is with some things. I've known him for almost thirty years now." Trina answered her.

"He surprises me too every day. Believe it or not my father-in-law has redeeming qualities. One of those qualities is he's a card carrying democrat. He's a shitty person to all people equally. At least he used to be. He's really done his best to turn things around over the last ten years. That man is sons of the confederacy, the south is gonna rise again, American by birth southern by the grace of God. However, that is one of the most accepting men I've ever met. As old as he is I once saw him tussle with this absolute bear of a man for calling my brother-in-law a name that I won't repeat." Rayna informed them.

"If Paul Claybourne had gotten sober earlier he would have been a legendary song writer. We worked with him a little bit and then I decided to do some diggin'. Did you know he wrote songs for your momma?" Roxy asked her.

"I did not know that. That's interestin' I'm gonna have to grill him 'bout that the next time I see him." Rayna looked thoughtful.

"Roxy, Trixie, ya'll open up. I want my wife back. You can't hold her hostage!" Deacon banged on the door.

"Deacon, have you ever known that door to be locked!" Trina yelled back at him.

Deacon came in and wiped his boots off on the doormat. "Trixie, you got one more time to yell at me like that."

"Deacon, you got one more time to call me Trixie." Trina countered.

"Ray, I'm sorry that I dropped you off in this mad house. I ain't sorry cause I left you with these two I'm sorry cause of what I set myself up for. Our daughters aren't grown women there is no way. I don't know how you put up with 'em, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Deacon clutched his chest and winced a little.

"You're welcome, babe. Your chest is still tender isn't it?" Rayna laughed a little.

"It's still a little tender. I'll live though. Tell me that you're ready to go. I can't go on without ya for any longer." Deacon folded his hands as if in prayer.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go." Rayna stood up and steadied herself.

"Ya'll only gave her tequila right? Roxy, didn't give her anythin' from her stash?" Deacon questioned the other two women.

"Of course it was only tequila. I didn't want a repeat of the Tijuana incident that you won't let me live down." Roxy reassured him.

"You have a Tijuana incident with her too?" Rayna's jaw hung open.

"No, this is the Tijuana incident that we don't talk 'bout cause you broke up with me." Deacon scratched behind his ear.

"The incident where I lost you, Vince, Luke, and Riff for three days and those three idiots somehow managed to cross the border with a sixty pounds of pot." Rayna glared at him.

"That would be the one. You see Roxy may or may not have been Vince's pot supplier. I fudged the truth a little bit earlier when I told you this wasn't one of Vince's contacts. She was a broke college student sometimes you do things." Deacon laughed.

"They are both really fantastic and I'm not even gonna be mad at you. I'm just gonna ask you if you mind going home and getting the natives settled in while I take a cab? I have some things I need to take care of." Rayna asked hopefully.

"Well, I really need to go to a meetin', but I can make this work. You just go take care of whatever it is you need to take care of." Deacon reassured her. "Roxy, Trixie, thank ya'll for takin' her on. I know what a handful that she can be."

"Deacon, she's Rayna Jaymes. You didn't bring us a dud this time. We are impressed." Trina told him.

"Thank ya'll so much. I know that I may seem like a big deal to you, but you have no idea how much I appreciate this." Rayna smiled at them.

"You come on back any time. Seriously come back when you get over what has you all blocked up. Cause I'm nosy and I wanna know what it is." Roxy told her.

"Come on, babe, let's get outta here. We both got places to be." Deacon put his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

"If you could just stay here for a minute that would be great. Keep the meter runnin'." Rayna climbed out of the back of a cab.

"It's not a problem, Ms. Jaymes, take your time." The cabbie replied.

Rayna walked away from the cab and to her destination. She stared down at a headstone with the last name Grayson written on it. She sat a pint of whiskey on top of it. "Hey, Vinny, I'm sorry that I don't come by and visit more. I heard that you helped our boy get back to his roots and I was hopin' that you had some of that wisdom left for me. I am so incredibly lost. I can't say that to him he'd just take it all on himself and find a way that it's his fault. It's just a mess. You know how he is as well as I do. You always had a way of callin' me out on my bullshit and helpin' me see things in a different light."

She sank down on the ground next to the headstone. "Back in those early days I was wild and untamed. I was so passionate. We all were. That was one of the happiest times of my life. I knew who I was then. I was so damn sure of myself. I can't tell the man who has been there with me from the start that he's the reason I can't think straight anymore. That he went and tamed me and I did the same damn thing to him. You were the person that I used to talk to when I couldn't tell him things. He never found out about Vince Pierce or about that guy at school that was harassing me. You were my big brother. I'm afraid that I won't be able to find the artist I used to be without that chemistry we all used to have together."

She opened the bottle of whiskey and took a sip. "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you so damn much. Whatever you did for him I need you to do it for me too. You cut through whatever bullshit that was in his head and I think he's been a writing machine. I don't know what you did, but you did good for a change. You were the dependable one for once. That's somethin' that your son took after you. He's a damn good boy and I'm so proud that he's marryin' my daughter. He's the version of you that I wish you coulda been. It's was so damn weird gettin' married and not seein' you standin' there next to Deacon as his best man. I so hope that you finally found the peace that eluded you for so long."

She stood up and poured a little of the whiskey out on the ground. "You enjoy that and you keep the beer cold up there. I love you and miss you, you old drunk asshole. Rest easy my brother I got a cab waiting." She walked back to the cab and climbed inside.

By the time she made it home the kids were in bed sleeping. She walked into each of their rooms and kissed their heads.

Deacon was lying in their bed with his reading glasses on. He had a book propped up on his chest. "Hey, baby, there you are. I was startin' to think you were gonna make it home with the sun."

"You must have had a quick meeting tonight. I didn't expect you to be here when I got home." Rayna took off her clothes and changed into her pajamas.

"I didn't go. It wasn't all that important that I go. I came home and hosed down and slopped our little hogs." Deacon put his book over on the nightstand and took his glasses off.

"Why have you been going to so many meetings lately?" Rayna crawled into bed next to him and cuddled against his side. She was still being gentle with his chest.

"Just because I've had to be on those narcotic painkillers. I just wanna make sure that I stay right." Deacon didn't even feel bad for lying to her face. He'd lied to her about way worse things in the past.

"I am physically and emotionally exhausted after the day I've had. I'm gonna pass out right now." Rayna yawned.

"Me too, I didn't know that our grown children were so much more work than the ones we are still raising. Those girls are pure chaos. I love 'em to death, but they are a handful. I also didn't know that stuffin' envelopes was that much of a chore. Those invitations turned out nice though." Deacon replied.

"You drew up those invitations and I thought the same thing. You did good, babe." Rayna mumbled half asleep.

"Go to sleep, babe." Deacon turned off the lamp. He smiled when he heard her snore softly in response.

 _Rayna woke up on the couch of Deacon's old apartment. She blinked her eyes rapidly and looked around to try to get her bearings. "What the hell?"_

" _Mornin' sunshine, I was wonderin' how long I was gonna be waitin' on you to wake up." Vince sat in the chair with a case of beer on the coffee table in front of him. He ran his hand over his beard and used his fingers to comb through his hair._

" _Vince, what is this? What am I doin' here?" Rayna rubbed her forehead._

" _You asked for my help and here I am. This is my thing. I was a no good son of a bitch while I was alive now that I'm dead think of me as your friendly neighborhood guide to what is fucked up in your life." Vince grinned._

" _You're such a damn asshole. I don't know what I was thinkin' comin' to you for help. You're not gonna be able to tell me anythin' that I need to know. I was just graspin' at straws." Rayna buried her face in her hands and sighed._

" _Ray, you're in trouble. You came to me cause you knew I'd find a way to help like I always did even if I didn't always have the best methods. You're Deac's girl and no one messes with ya on my watch." Vince retorted._

" _How you gonna help this time? You gonna magically open my eyes and let the music back in?" Rayna snorted sarcastically._

" _No, I'm not the damn ghost of Christmas past, Ray. I don't have that kind of power. Even if I did I think we both know that I would find a way to fuck it up. It's what I do best." Vince shrugged his shoulders._

" _Then what is your solution to this?" Rayna glared at him._

" _We will get to my solution in a minute. I ain't seen you in forever the least you can do is give me a proper hello." Vince stood up and opened his arms to her._

 _Rayna got up and hugged him tightly. "Hey, I miss you so much. It's not the same without ya."_

 _Vince kissed the top of her head. "I miss you too. You're right things are better without me. He would have never become the man you needed him to be with me there to hold him back."_

" _You weren't as bad as you've been made out to be. Now, lay some of your wisdom on me." Rayna pulled away from him._

" _As important as this place is to the artist you became you're not gonna find the answers that you're lookin' for here. You blossomed here, but this isn't where the seed took root." Vince told her._

" _If the answers I need aren't here then where are they?" Rayna asked._

" _I think you know, Ray. You know and you don't wanna say cause that's the one place you don't wanna go. You also know that I'm not the person to help you. What I did for Deac worked because I understand him in a way that no one else can, not even you. I went through the same things with my step-father that he went through with Paul. Who you need is the person who can do that for you. What you and Deac have together is perfect. You understand each other and you can talk. Right now not even he can help you. This part you've gotta do on your own and you've gotta make him let you." Vince informed her._

" _I don't want to take this journey or any other without him, Vince. We tried that and we both end up a mess." Rayna's eyes teared up._

" _I ain't sayin' that he can't help you and that he shouldn't help you find your way back to the top. I'm sayin' that he can't be the one to help you figure out where or who that spark came from or why it went out." Vince clarified._

 _Rayna nodded in understanding. She reached up and touched his cheek gently. "You're more peaceful than I ever saw you. You're settled and peaceful. I'm sorry that you couldn't find that while you were alive."_

" _Ray, I was never meant to have my peace on earth. Men like me we were meant to live hard and fast. That's cause we know we ain't got much time and we have to make it count. What added to my bullshit was that I was so haunted. Deac was reachable I wasn't. You both did everythin' that you could for me and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. You go take care of you now." Vince reasoned with her._

" _Alright, I'm goin'. I don't like this whole wise thing that you're tryin' to do now, but I'm gonna give this a try. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I love you." Rayna smiled._

" _I knew even when you were yellin' at me and callin' me names I always knew. I love you too. You look out for that boy of mine for me. That girl of yours is good for him. For the record Deac had to be purposely willfully blind not to know that's his daughter." Vince smirked._

" _I'll look out for him. I always do. He's a good man. They are great together. And I should have known I wasn't gonna get out of this without you sayin' somethin' 'bout that." Rayna groaned._

" _You know me too well." Vince laughed._

" _This attitude right here is why I was never nicer to you." Rayna pointed a threatening finger in his direction._

" _But you loved me anyway." Vince winked at her._

* * *

Rayna's eyes popped open and she stirred a little.

"What ya doin', baby? Is everythin' ok?" Deacon's voice was laden with sleep.

"I'm fine, babe. I was just dreaming. I'm gonna go look in on the kids. You sleep." Rayna slipped out of bed and padded down the hall quietly without waiting for a response from him.

She grabbed her jacket, slipped her feet into a pair of shoes and picked up her keys. She knew exactly where she had to go to find what she had lost. She also knew that if she didn't just do it and get it over with then she never would.

She got into her SUV and drove over to Belle Meade. For just a moment like she always did she paused in front of the house that she had shared first with Teddy and then with Deacon to just look at it. So much of her personal history was tied up in that house that she couldn't bring herself to sell it not after the many times she'd fought just to be able to keep it.

After she'd had her moment she kept driving. The houses just got bigger and more expensive as she went. Finally, she stopped in front of her destination. She punched the code in at the gate and pulled into the driveway. She turned the engine off and just sat there staring for a minute. She had to work up her courage before she got out. In a way she'd always been at her most vulnerable here.

It didn't matter how old she got those same feelings always seemed to creep up on her. She rested her head against the steering wheel and gripped it tightly. She wasn't ready to get out of the car just yet. One of the places that should bring her comfort filled her with absolute dread. She took a deep breath and picked up her phone. She debated with herself for a moment over whether or not she should call Deacon and have him talk her into this.

She would listen to the things he told her better than she would when she told herself the same things. She put her phone back in her jacket pocket. Vince had been right this was the part that no one else could help her with. Deacon would try his best to be there for her, but it wouldn't do her any good. She had to do this on her own. She at least had to do this part alone anyway.

She ran her hands over her face and she sighed deeply. She could perform in front of thousands of people, but she couldn't do this without having a small mental collapse.

"You're bein' ridiculous right now. You can do this. It's not the big deal that you're makin' it out to be." She tried to give herself a pep talk.

"It's been so damn long. It's different now. You're not the same person anymore. You're gonna have to get over this one day." She slammed her hands on the dashboard.

She pulled down the visor and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was in a loose ponytail on the side of her head and she didn't have any makeup on. She was still in her pajamas. She looked a little bit like a crazy person. Well maybe she was a little crazy. Maybe she was a lot crazy she didn't really know anymore.

"It's now or never you just have to do it." She took one last look at herself and got out of the car. She'd taken the first step it was time for her to go the rest of the way.

She walked up to the front door and knocked on it even though she had a key.

"Rayna, it's after midnight. What are you doing here? Are my grandchildren alright?" Lamar answered the door in his dressing robe.

"Hi, daddy, can I come in?" Rayna asked him hopefully.

"Of course, come in." Lamar opened the door and ushered her inside.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 42

Rayna stopped on the rug in front of the staircase and she had to fight hard not to let that old memory overtake her. Right now, she couldn't let that sad, scared sixteen-year-old girl take over. She had other things to concern herself with.

"Do you mind telling me what you're doing here?" Lamar cleared his throat.

"This is gonna sound absolutely crazy to you, but I need to go to momma's room and look at her things." Rayna told him.

"This couldn't have waited until a more reasonable hour? Your mother's things and her room is there anytime you or your sister want. You had to do this now?" Lamar quirked his eyebrow.

"I realize what time it is. Don't think that's lost on me I own a watch. I can't explain this to you it's not somethin' that you'll understand. It's an artist thing. That's the only thing that I can tell you." Rayna sighed. She had known that he would be difficult about this.

"You're right I don't understand it and I doubt I would even if you explained it. You know where your mother's room is. I'm going back to bed. I trust you to lock up on your way out." Lamar replied.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Rayna made her way up the stairs.

"See that you do." Lamar made his way to his study to pour himself a nightcap.

Rayna opened the door to the bedroom that was across from her father's. For whatever reason that she had never understood rich southern people didn't share bedrooms with their spouses. She flipped on the light and looked around. The room looked the same as it had the last time she'd saw her mother in there. It was like she had stepped back in time. She gently ran her hand over the perfume bottles on the vanity. She picked one and sprayed a little on one of her wrists and then she rubbed both her wrists together.

She smelled her wrists and smiled. She smelled just like her mother. It was mind boggling to think that she was older now than her mother had been when she'd died. Somehow, she'd managed to navigate through life without her even though it hadn't always been easy. She sometimes thought that she felt her mother's absence deeper than her sister did.

She opened the double doors of the closet and took a box off the top shelf. She sat down on the bed and opened it. She started to pull different odds and ends out. They must have meant something to Virginia, but they looked like junk to her. She took an envelope filled with pictures out of the box and spread them out over the bed. Most of these pictures she'd never seen and some of them her father had duplicates of.

She picked one up and studied it closely.

"That was always one of my favorites of her. She looked gorgeous like she always did you could never tell that she didn't feel comfortable with her position in life. She had more poise and grace in her pinky than most women have in their entire bodies." Lamar stood in the doorway with two sifters of scotch.

Rayna looked up at him. "Daddy, I thought you were goin' back to sleep."

"I brought you a peace offering. I know that I was less than cordial when I opened the door. I was just caught off guard." Lamar handed her one of the glasses.

"Thanks, daddy. I understand. It's late and I showed up like a crazy person." Rayna accepted the glass from him with a smile.

"I see you found your mother's box of keepsakes. She always did like to keep the special things in her life close to her." Lamar tried to make conversation.

"I did I was just lookin' through her closet and this was on the top shelf." Rayna looked at the picture and smiled. "I always thought that Maddie took after Deacon, but she looks so much like momma. If that girl had a hint of modesty and teased her hair to high heaven."

"Your momma never looked less than a genteel southern belle the whole time I knew her. She had this rebellious streak in her though. If your grandfather or I told her not to do something she did it with a smile on her face. She didn't take kindly to being kept under thumb or told what to do. I think I may know someone else like that." Lamar laughed a little and looked directly at his daughter.

"Like I said Maddie clearly took after her mawmaw." Rayna smirked.

"Scoot over," Lamar had her move over on the bed so he could sit next to her. "I'm talking about you and we both know that." He gently pried the picture out of her hand.

"The way I've always seen it is I'm entirely too much like you and that's why we can't get along." Rayna arched her eyebrow at him. She took a sip of her drink.

"You're nothing like me. Tandy took after me. You may have gotten my ambition, but that was it. A moment ago, I said that your mother liked to keep the special things in her life close to her. Where she could keep an eye on them and make sure that they stayed safe. Left in my clumsy, incapable hands I'm afraid that I neglected the most precious thing in the world to her." Lamar gulped half his drink and gave her a meaningful look.

"What are you talkin' 'bout?" Rayna looked back at him confused.

"You, Rayna, I'm talking about you. From the moment you were born you two had a bond that I hadn't seen before and haven't seen since. She always kept both you girls with her, but as you got older Tandy was drawn into my orbit and you stuck by her side. She didn't love me the way that I loved her. She wasn't capable of it I know that now. I didn't give her a reason to trust me as a husband or as a father. It should have at least given her some peace of mind to know you girls had me after she passed. I don't know if she had that." Lamar fumbled with his words.

"Daddy, we don't have to do this." Rayna tried to stop him.

"No, let me say this it's been a long time coming. You got the fiery, willfully disobedient side of your mother and coupled with my ambition it makes you a force of a nature. You are a hurricane. Like your mother you've never been afraid to stand up to me no matter how angry I am. You give whatever I've got to give right back to me. I'm afraid that I threw away the most important thing to her like she didn't matter. At the time, all I could see was yet another of the women that I loved pulling away from me to go down the same path the other woman that I loved had gone down. I let my pride get the best of me. I was stubborn and stupid and I threw you out like you were garbage. I didn't treat you with the compassion that you needed. I didn't take into account that you were a sixteen-year-old girl that felt like the whole world was against her. I didn't give you the understanding that your mother had asked me to so many times. When Virginia died you didn't just lose your mother you lost the person that understood you the best in this world. I never stopped to think that you found that understanding with Deacon." Lamar gave her an impassioned speech.

"Daddy, I know from experience that teenage girls aren't easy. I was probably harder than most and I got just a little taste of that with Maddie. Talk about willfully disobedient. There was a time when I admired your restraint at just throwing me out and not killing me. It's possible that I was in the wrong back then too." Rayna admitted.

"I was the parent, Rayna. You better than anyone know that that means unconditional love even when your child is being less than angelic. I know that this may be almost forty years late, but from the bottom of my heart I apologize for turning my back on you. I'm sorry that I took away your sense of home and family. I'm sorry that I'm such a horrible father. Most of all I'm sorry that I took away your sense of home and family. It pains me that you knock on the door instead of using your key to let yourself in. When Maddie comes back to your house she just walks right in and is home. You're like a visitor here. I did that to you. I took away the last place you were with your mother." Lamar put his hand on her knee.

Rayna's eyes teared up and she swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. "Forty years late is better than never. I didn't think I'd ever hear those words from you. I have waited for so long. I came here tonight lookin' for somethin' else, but I found forgiveness. I forgive you, daddy."

Lamar found himself getting misty eyed so he cleared his throat and changed the subject. "I don't know what this means coming from a man who will admittedly probably never understand you, but if you wanna tell me what you're looking for I'm willing to listen."

"Daddy, I've lost my way. It's more than that. I've lost my voice. I don't know who I am as an artist anymore. I can't write a song to save my life. I just can't find any clarity. Writin' with Deacon normally helps, but lately I can't even get it to come with him." Rayna told him.

"I know nothing about song writing so I can't help you there. What I can tell you is this. Your mother rarely wrote her own songs, but when she did it was in this room right here. Normally with you curled up against her side. Whatever it is you have in you that makes you love making music so much the seed of it was planted here in this room." Lamar gave her some shockingly good advice. He opened the drawer in the nightstand and took out a pen and pad of paper. He sat them on the bed next to Rayna.

"What's that for?" Rayna questioned.

"Write whatever comes to mind whatever you're feeling. Put it down on that paper. That's a fitting piece to Virginia Wyatt's legacy." Lamar stood up.

"Where are you going?" Rayna asked him.

"It's late. I run a multi-billion-dollar corporation not a record label. I can't just come and go as I please. I'm going to sleep. You are going to stay here and write as long as you want to. You don't get to leave until you have something that resembles a song down on this page." Lamar patted her knee. He turned the antique radio on before he left the room. There was no need for him to change the station. It had been on the same station since his wife died.

Rayna put some of the things back in the box and picked up the pen and pad of paper. She paused when she uncovered a thimble from the state of Virginia. What could only be described as a goofy smile came to her face. This was just like the stupid little trinkets that Deacon gave her every year for Mother's Day in honor of her mother. She sat it down in front of her to have something to focus on while she wrote.

At some point she drifted off to sleep for just a moment.

* * *

 _Rayna felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and then blinked them rapidly. "Shit, I must have fallen asleep. I better call Deacon and let him know that I'm ok before he goes crazy with worry." She reached around for her phone._

" _Listen to the mouth on you. I'm sure it gives your father fits knowing that he didn't raise a southern belle." A voice said from the chair in the corner of the room._

 _Rayna's head whipped around to the sound of the familiar voice. It took a moment, but a smile slowly spread across her face. "Momma, what are you doin' here? I'm sorry 'bout the language."_

" _Let's just say that loud mouthed friend of yours knows what he's talking about every now and then. He sent you to me not your father. As Lamar just told you I understand you better than anyone else ever could. And don't apologize for the language songwriting and your daddy are enough to make you utter every four letter word in the book." Virginia replied._

" _I have missed you so, so much." Rayna put her hand over her mouth._

" _I've missed you too. Just because I haven't been here doesn't mean I haven't seen everything though. You are not a well behaved southern lady and you never will be. I'm more proud of you for that than you will ever know. You became a remarkably fearless woman and it has been my pleasure to watch you every step of the way." Virginia got up from the chair and sat on the bed next to her daughter._

" _I had to be fearless, momma. I didn't have anyone to show me the way. And once I was set I didn't always have a partner I could depend on, so I had to be able to take care of things. There were times I thought the love of my life loved the bottle more than me. Daddy completely turned his back on me. I had to be the strong one. I've greased the lanes for my girls as much as I possibly can. They put in the work I just make it easier for 'em." Rayna shook her head sadly._

" _None of that, you keep your head up. You are so strong don't ever be ashamed of that or of your past. And you were right I do like Deacon. I've always liked him. I've always thought that he was the one for you. He understands you. He knows you better than you know yourself. That youngest granddaughter of mine is just like him. I can't wait to see the woman she becomes. This isn't about them though. I'm here for you, my sweet girl. Tell me how I can help." Virginia sat so that Rayna's head was in her lap._

" _I've lost my voice, momma. I don't know how or if I can ever get it back. I can still sing, but I don't have the drive or the passion anymore. I can't make the words come. I'm afraid I really am done this time." Rayna looked up at her._

" _Oh, sugar, you still have your voice. No one and nothing will ever be able to take that from you. You haven't lost your talent at all. You're just blocked right now. It's normal and it happens to every artist eventually." Virginia played with her daughter's hair._

" _What's my problem, momma? How do I fix it?" Rayna searched her mother's face for the answer._

" _It's simple your problem is Deacon. And I don't mean that in a bad way, sweetheart. This is not a bad problem to have. You're happy now. For a large part of your life you weren't. How many happy country songs are there? There aren't many. Because being happy is boring. No one wants to hear about the mundane stuff." Virginia explained to her._

" _I don't understand I never had this problem when I was married to Teddy. The music came without any effort then. I had Maddie on a tour bus by the time she was eight weeks old and still I could write songs." Rayna groaned._

" _And you had Deacon. Even though you weren't supposed to have Deacon you still did. He was the forbidden you were married and you were keeping his daughter from him. You liked that danger. He was that fire you wanted to touch even though you knew he would burn you. He was yours, but he wasn't. Then you finally married him and settled down with him. You both lost your edge. You buried that untamed side of yourself because you didn't need it anymore. It's ok for you to reach out and grab on to that. It's not gonna make you a bad wife or momma. You weren't meant to be put into a box don't let the world do that to you. Don't make yourself small." Virginia laid it out for her._

" _How are you so sure of that?" Rayna asked._

" _I'm your momma it's my job to know these things. That's why Vince sent you to me. He knew that I would get you sorted out." Virginia kissed her forehead._

" _It's just a relief to know that I'm not done and I'm not broken. For a minute there I was startin' to think that there was somethin' wrong with me." Rayna breathed a sigh of relief._

" _There is nothin' wrong with you. There never has been and there never will be. I'm sorry that I left you to face this all alone. I wasn't there when you needed me the most, but you rose up above it all and you became the strongest woman I've ever seen. As your mother that's everything I ever wanted for you. I think you may understand a little something about that. You've been in both positions. The difference is when Maddie went through the same thing you did you stood beside her and let her make the mistakes that she needed to make. She knew she could always come back home. I'm proud of you for not repeating your father's mistakes." Virginia continued to talk to her in a soothing tone._

" _That was not an option. That man was horrible to me for most of my life. I never could do anythin' right enough to hear him tell it. I never wanted my girls to feel that way no matter what they did. Maddie is more like me than I ever realized. I gave her the freedom to do what she needed to do at the time and I hoped for the best. Luckily it turned out ok. She learned her lesson and she ended up flourishing. My children have two parents who are just wingin' it. We do the best we can given that neither of us had really stellar upbringings. I guess time will tell if we screwed 'em up for life or not." Rayna laughed a little bit._

" _You figured out the secret of being a momma then. All you can do is love them. Then you send them out into the world and hope that they know that they can always come to you. That goes for you too. Just because you can't always see me doesn't mean that I'm not always here. you can always talk and I will always listen even if I don't always answer back." Virginia brushed her fingers against her daughter's cheek._

" _I know that. I think deep down I always have. I'll be ok now, momma. I've gotten pretty good at takin' care of myself. And I have a good man to take care of what I can't. I'm gonna be fine." Rayna closed her eyes and took in the feel of her mother's touch._

" _I should get going. I'm keeping you from your work. You have a song to write. And then you have four children to get home to. They tend to run rough shod over their father. He's a good man and he's so tender with them and that's why they need both of you. You are good at being the hard ass." Virginia smiled._

 _Rayna sat up. "He can't be he doesn't have it in him. I love him for it."_

 _Virginia kissed the top of her head. "Good luck with that song. I had other people write them for me for a reason. I expect this to be a great one."_

" _For the most part they always are. There were a few questionable ones back in the nineties though." Rayna smiled._

" _We have to kiss a few frogs to get to a prince every now and then. I have faith in you. If you ever need me again I'll know, but until then I'll be here." Virginia waved at her._

" _I love you, momma." Rayna waved back._

" _I love you too, my sweet girl." Virginia replied._

* * *

Deacon rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and squinted against the sunlight that was streaming in through the kitchen door. "Somethin' smells damn good this mornin'."

Rayna turned around from the stove and smiled at him. "I made French toast, bacon, eggs, hash browns, and sausage."

"Toast?" Deacon asked hopefully.

"My little helper is making the toast." Rayna pointed to Jack sat on the counter next to the toaster.

"You want somethin' you're makin' all my favorites for breakfast. You don't like to cook in the mornings you want a real big favor, babe." Deacon picked up her coffee cup and took a sip.

"Get your own damn coffee, sugar. I don't need any favors from you at the moment. I think you've taken pretty good care of me." Rayna poured him a cup of coffee and took hers back.

"This isn't a bribe and it isn't a thank you either. You did somethin' and you feel guilty 'bout it." Deacon correctly read the emotion on her face.

"I didn't come home all night. And you obviously didn't know that I wasn't home all night or you would have said somethin'. I was at my daddy's house all night. I'm fixed that's all you need to worry about. I'm just sorry that I ran out of here without sayin' anythin' to you." Rayna informed him.

"I sleep light you know that. You were talkin' in your sleep last night. You were talkin' to Vince. I ain't gonna question that. I told ya I saw him too. If that took care of whatever has been up with you lately then I ain't gonna question that either." Deacon replied.

"Vince always did take care of us both." Rayna bumped her hip against his.

"In his own way he always did." Deacon's eyes crinkled up in a smile.

"Who's Vince?" Jack asked.

"One of your guardian angels. I'm sure daddy has told you about your Uncle Vinny. You're kinda named after him. Well not kinda you are." Rayna kissed his head.

"Uncle Vinny's real first name was Jackson just like yours, Henry." Deacon tickled his belly.

"A name that your daddy and I both agreed on. Your daddy filled out your birth certificate and put your name on there. He knows your name better than anyone and still he calls you Henry." Rayna shook her head. She didn't understand her husband at all sometimes.

"I Jack Henry Claybourne." Jack pointed at himself.

"What's daddy's name?" Rayna asked him.

"Deacon John," Jack answered her.

"What's momma's name?" Deacon questioned.

"Ray," Jack answered surely.

"We have a smart boy on our hands, momma." Deacon laughed.

"Yes, we do." Rayna agreed.

"Where are the other three?" Deacon looked around for his other children.

"They are getting ready for school and I'm gonna take 'em for a change. And then I'm gonna go see Roxy again. I'm doin' all the stuff you normally handle because I'm asking you to run the office today. I know you hate it, but right now I need this. You can't help me yet. I know that you wanna be my knight in shining armor, but I'm not ready for that. I'll let you know when I am." Rayna told him.

"Alright, we will discuss whatever the hell is goin' on with you later. I swear I can't even keep up anymore." Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's nothin' bad, babe. I promise you that." Rayna assured him.

"Mom! Dad!" Maddie stormed in the side door of the kitchen with JC following right behind her.

"What can we do for you this fine day, Princess?" Deacon asked.

"You can kick my fiancé out of your bunkhouse so he will get off his ass and look at a damn house. He doesn't like anything that I pick out." Maddie put her hands on her hips.

"I think your father and I aren't getting in the middle of this." Rayna tried to beg off.

"Cricket, it ain't even like that. Maybe if you would show me somethin' that ain't in the metro area I would be more excited to go look at it. I ain't an apartment or Music Row or East Nashville type of guy. I'm perfectly happy out there in that bunkhouse where all I hear at night is the crickets." JC corrected her.

"What about Belle Meade? You remember the old house. The property was huge. Would you be willing to compromise and do something like that?" Maddie asked him.

"Do I really look like the type of guy that would be comfortable in a place like that? You saw where I grew up. I gotta be free. I can't handle being confined in that place. I found a listin' that I like and if you're willin' to go look at it with me I think that maybe this could be the place." JC explained patiently.

"Ok, fine, I will go look at it with you later. I just warn you that I don't plan on ever living out in the sticks. This place is as far from the city as I'm willing to go." Maddie warned him.

"Well, actually there are two listings that I like. One is two miles up the road from here and the other is three miles up the road. The one that's three miles away part of that property actually touches this property. I've seen it." JC told her.

"I'll think about it." Maddie replied. "I mean it would be pretty ideal."

"Maddie, trust me on this one. You're gonna want the privacy. You will be really glad not to be in the heart of Nashville." Rayna put her two cents in on the matter.

"You know how close we are to downtown here. You get the best of both worlds." Deacon added.

"Ok, we can go look at both properties. On the condition if I decide to do this with you we pick the house that sits the furthest away from this one. I really don't wanna go outside in the mornings and have to hear Huckleberry Hound sitting out on the front port of the balcony off his bedroom playing his guitar." Maddie huffed.

JC kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Cricket. I love you."

"Shut up, you're only happy because you're getting your way." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Hey! I take offense to that statement. I am not Huckleberry Hound." Deacon protested.

"I can see that this is gonna turn into one of those all out wars that these two are so fond of havin'. This could take awhile." Rayna shook her head at them.

"I've learned that it's best to just let the two of 'em have it out. They are so much alike that neither one of them is willin' to bend." JC nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Daddy and Maddie have to go to their separate corners if they are together for too long." Jack observed.

"That kid is too damn adorable sometimes." JC laughed.

"That he is. You only think that Maddie is like Deacon. You didn't have the pleasure of meetin' my momma. Maddie is more like her than you will ever know. If she were a little more of southern belle she would be the spittin' image of my momma." Rayna chose to carry on a conversation with JC like Deacon and Maddie weren't having round five thousand in their never-ending battle.

"Jack Henry, go find your brothers and sister and tell them that breakfast is ready." Deacon ignored Maddie for a moment.

"Ok," Jack jumped down off the counter and scurried up the stairs.

"Dad, how are you not Huckleberry Hound? You talk with a thick accent and carry a guitar with you everywhere." Maddie pointed out to him.

"Ok, Maddie, you win, your daddy is Huckleberry Hound and proud of it. Just remember that you got your ability to play guitar from me." Deacon countered.

"I do so love when I get you frustrated enough and you just give up." Maddie smirked.

"Maddie, he lets you win to make you feel good about yourself." Rayna took the wind out of her sails. "Now, you can set the table."

"Yes, mom." Maddie groaned and rolled her eyes.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	43. Chapter 43

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 43

"Rayna, come on in. You look different today. You look free." Roxy waved her into the house.

"I feel better today. I feel like whatever was dammed up inside me finally broke free." Rayna walked into the house.

Roxy sat down and offered her a seat. "Tell me about it. I'm curious."

"It was my momma. My love of music, my desire to be an artist it all started with her. She was the missin' link. And well it's Deacon too. Part of what made us so great together was our reckless passion. We got married and we domesticated each other. We lost the edge that made us great artists. Before I can write with him again I've got to touch that reckless part and grab hold of it." Rayna sat down and crossed her legs.

"You've come to the right place then. Reckless just so happens to be one of my specialties. I will grab my purse and call a cab." Roxy replied.

"What does this have to do with songwriting?" Rayna asked her.

"We can't write until you recapture that recklessness. That is what we are gonna go do right now. You should know better than anyone that there are ways to get in trouble in this city at any time of day. We are gonna go find some of that trouble." Roxy explained to her.

"This isn't the kind of trouble that involves me drunk before noon is it?" Rayna asked.

"No I can't handle that today. I make no promises about what's gonna happen after noon though." Roxy replied.

"I'm gonna live to regret this aren't I?" Rayna sighed.

"That's the plan." Roxy grabbed her purse.

"I've spent so much time tryin' to be a good influence that I'm not sure I know how to be the wild one anymore." Rayna laughed and got to her feet.

"We are gonna fix that today. We are gonna leave my ball and chain out of this though, cause she can be a stick in the mud." Roxy looped her arm through Rayna's.

"Is my car gonna be safe here?" Rayna asked skeptically.

"Didn't you used to live in this neighborhood?" Roxy countered.

"Yeah, I did. That' how I kinda know the answer to that." Rayna hit the lock button on her key fob.

"The police come through here all the time. It'll be ok." Roxy laughed.

"I'm not too worried. I'm not Deacon I never leave anythin' important in the car. He leaves his expensive guitars in his truck overnight." Rayna shook her head.

"He has to have a guitar with him at all times. What's he gonna do if he goes to grab it and it ain't there? He will be beside himself." Roxy pointed out to her.

"Because he really is Huckleberry Hound." Rayna dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Oh my God, he is. I don't know how I never made that connection before." Roxy laughed with her.

"Neither did I until my daughter called him that this morning." Rayna grabbed her sides from laughing so hard.

* * *

Tandy stormed into Deacon's office and slammed the door behind her. "What did you do to my sister?"

Deacon took his glasses off and swiveled around in his chair. "Hey, Tandy, I'm doin' great this mornin' thanks for askin."

"I'm dead serious, Deacon. I am not playing around with you. There is something wrong with my sister and I'm blaming it on you. You are always to blame that's just one of the facts of life." Tandy put her hands on her hips.

"There's nothin' wrong with your sister. At least physically there is nothin' wrong with her. There's not even anythin' wrong with her mentally. She's just havin' an existential crisis." Deacon replied.

"You're her husband. How can you not know exactly what's goin' on with her?" Tandy demanded.

"She's a woman and she's complicated and I don't always exactly know what's goin' on in that head of hers." Deacon answered.

"You're Freakin' Deacon Claybourne. You're this crazy protective Neanderthal when it comes to her. You're supposed to be stalking her life to see what's wrong with her." Tandy stressed.

"Except we ain't teenagers anymore and that's not a thing I do. I give the woman space to breathe and figure her own shit out." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"When her shit takes her to my daddy's doorstep in the middle of the night I worry. You should worry. You know how he affects the both of us. He makes us both absolutely crazy and he makes me do crazy things. So, when she is going to him to talk because you're not available it's a problem." Tandy put her hands on his shoulders and shook him.

"She will tell me when she's ready to talk. There ain't no forcin' it outta her 'til then. I've learned that the hard way over many decades. I cross her and I'm sleepin' on a couch 'til I die." Deacon grabbed her hands.

"Fix her, Deacon. I'm not playing around with you at all. You fix her before my father starts playing master of the universe again. You have no idea what a little bit of attention from him will do to her. Fix it." Tandy yanked her hands away from him and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! That was not ok. I wasn't expectin' that. I assure you that a little bit of affection from Lamar ain't gonna make a difference at this point. Their relationship is as good as it's ever gonna get. You've got nothin' to worry 'bout." Deacon reassured her.

Tandy gestured her arm around. "This, this is what I have to worry about. Daddy gets her all buttered up and he could get his hooks into all of this. Trust me when I say that we don't want his business mixed up with this. I'm sure at some point you and I have had the conversation about how much dirt I really have on him."

"Your sister may be havin' a little midlife crisis, but she ain't stupid. She ain't lettin' him get his hooks in this. You're forgettin' that half this place is mine now. Even if she's lost her mind I ain't lettin' it happen. And yes, you've had many a double bourbon on both our behalf while we talk 'bout our crappy fathers." Deacon ran his hand through his hair.

"It's always something with my sister. She goes from one crisis to the next. Of course, she can move mountains without breaking a nail, but still she is in perpetual crisis. Don't remind me that she lost half this place to you in a stupid bet. Fix her, Deacon, I mean it." Tandy glared at him.

"I'm sure that whatever your sister is goin' through right now isn't as dire as you're makin' it out to be." Deacon sighed. He wanted his crazy sister-in-law to leave his office and leave him alone.

"You don't know what's going on with her do you?" Tandy looked shocked.

"I know, but I don't know if that makes any sense. I know that she has been feelin' like she doesn't know who she is as an artist anymore. Apparently, she had some big epiphany last night and I ain't got no clue what it was." Deacon retorted.

"Then you need to go find out." Tandy tried to pull him out of his chair.

"I can't go find out. I don't even know where she is right now. You need to relax. Maybe go dip into the bottle of wine you keep in your desk drawer to calm ya down. I've got our girl under control. As much as she can be controlled anyway." Deacon stayed firmly rooted in the chair.

"Fix her." Tandy pointed a threatening finger at him.

"I don't know what you expect me to do. I can't fix her 'til she tells me what's broken. She said I couldn't help her yet when I can help her she will let me know. And if it makes ya feel any better I put her on the road to gettin' fixed." Deacon explained to her.

"You could have said that to begin with. If you talk to her tell her to get her ass back in this office. I have things that I need her to sign." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"Give me whatever it is. I can sign off on things just as easily as she can." Deacon held his hand out.

"This isn't the kind of stuff that we trust you with. The Deacon pile was on your desk when you came in this morning. I'll catch up to her later. I've already got her trained what to look at before she signs. I don't want to have to go through that again with you. It'll keep me from having to dip into my wine stash." Tandy replied.

"Then we're done here. I can get back to what I was doin'." Deacon looked hopeful.

"Carry on, hillbilly. It's a hard job to watch bad online music videos all day don't let me interrupt you." Tandy quipped.

"I think it's time for you to get back on your broomstick and fly to your cave." Deacon retorted.

"I'll see you at the staff meeting later." Tandy flipped him off.

"I'll see you there." Deacon laughed.

"Don't forget to pick your son up from pre-school. He hates it enough as it is. If you forget to pick him up he'll have your ass. And he has his mother's temper." Tandy reminded him.

"Oh, I know it. I have an alarm set to remind me when it's time to pick him up. I don't need Rayna fury comin' at me from a five-year-old. He even gives me that look that she likes to give. He scares me a little bit honestly." Deacon admitted.

"His Wyatt blood is strong. You gotta watch out for him he's the dangerous one." Tandy advised him.

"I know it. He's my little evil genius. Except he's too damn sweet." Deacon laughed. This was how conversations between him and Tandy usually went from one extreme to the other.

* * *

"So, was Deacon tellin' the truth or talkin' out his ass again about you bein' Vince's old supplier?" Rayna asked Roxy.

"He was tellin' the truth. I was a delinquent, but I didn't ask Vince to smuggle that much pot over the border. I needed five pounds max and he got carried away. He always got carried away. I don't have to tell you that though. I was literally sellin' Mexican pot for I know three years." Roxy answered.

"I was pissed off enough because I'd lost them for three days down in Mexico. When I found out that those idiots had smuggled pot up here I could have killed them. Somehow Deacon was the only one that Vince didn't rope into bein' a drug smuggler." Rayna laughed.

"Vince was go big or go home. He was also into stuff that I wanted no part of. I was surprised when he had a kid and I was even more surprised that his kid didn't grow up to be a serial killer. He had two profoundly screwed up parents. Anyone who actually thought Amy had it together had it wrong." Roxy went on.

"I've screwed up as a parent not to the extent that I was high, but I've lied. Amy did the best the she could for Jimmy she gave him to his grandparents. He's the opposite of a serial killer. All my kids love him and the oldest is in love with him. God help me my future grandchildren are gonna have Vince's DNA. It scares the shit outta me. That's at least three generations of addicts from both sides of the gene pool. That's a lot for me to worry 'bout." Rayna groaned.

"That's so appropriate. Vince's son and Deacon's daughter. Those two were inseparable. I didn't get to know Deacon that well until after Vince was gone though. He stumbled into where I was tendin' bar one night and I've kind been stuck with him ever since." Roxy replied.

"Walkin' around down here we just might run into Vince's son and Deacon's daughter. What are we doin' down here anyway?" Rayna inquired.

"I told you we're gonna touch a little bit of recklessness. We are walkin' 'round right now cause he don't get up early. I can get away with wakin' him up in oh maybe fifteen minutes I just have to make it worth his while. Until then we walk 'round." Roxy explained.

"If you get me murdered I swear I will come back to haunt you." Rayna warned her.

"You can relax he ain't gonna murder us. He may murder me, but that's to be expected. I just want him to be a little awake before I deal with him." Roxy chuckled.

"Mom!" Someone called out.

"Please ignore that. I know that's meant for me, but I'm scared." Rayna squeezed her eyes shut.

"Mother!" Daphne called louder.

"Daphne, what? I knew it was you the first time. I didn't know that you stayed at the apartment last night. I swear I can't escape you people." Rayna turned to face her.

"What are you doing down here in the middle of the day? You should be over at the office. I stayed at the apartment last night because I was in the studio really late. I would still be sleeping, but Joel called." Daphne replied.

"Don't worry 'bout what I'm doin' here. All you need to know is that your daddy introduced me to one of his friends. You get to ask no more questions right now." Rayna told her.

"I'm too tired to ask questions. I love you, I'll see you later, I gotta go." Daphne pecked her cheek.

"I love you too. You be careful. And you can tell Joel to wrap it up you're too young for babies." Rayna planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"Mom! Oh, I'm just gonna go." Daphne rushed away.

"And that is how I dodge my children I embarrass them to get them to leave me alone." Rayna smirked.

"You're an evil genius and I bow down to you for that. Come on, my guy only lives a few blocks from here. He's an ass, but he's good for what I want you to use him for. He's actually very good at what he does. He's just a pain in the ass to deal with." Roxy told her.

"I guess I'll find out what this is all about soon." Rayna just followed her.

"Trust me you're really gonna enjoy this." Roxy assured her. She led her to a studio apartment. She knocked loudly on a sliding door. "Open the damn door or I will use the key I have to let myself in."

A man with shoulder length dark hair wearing a beanie over it and a thick beard opened the door. "Rox, what the hell is it? I just woke up. I ain't myself yet."

"Presley, I swear." Roxy rolled her eyes.

"Are my boys ok? Is Trina ok? Are you ok?" Presley questioned rapid fire.

"The boys are fine, Trina is fine, I'm fine. If somethin' were wrong I would have called you instead of comin' over here. I brought you a client. If you weren't so blazed outta your mind right now you'd realize that." Roxy pointed at Rayna.

"Oh shit, I am not blazed. I wake up this tired you know that better than anyone." Presley retorted.

"Rayna, I would like you to meet my completely dopey younger brother Presley Turner." Roxy introduced them.

"Presley, it's nice to meet you." Rayna offered him her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too. You've got no choice come on in. I'm not lettin' Rayna Jaymes stand on my doorstep without lettin' her in. I ain't the kinda crazy that my sister seems to think I am." Presley opened the door wider to allow their entry.

"I can't say no when you roll out the red carpet like that." Rayna smiled.

"Ok, there are two levels in here. For our purposes today we are gonna go upstairs. You wouldn't believe the magic he makes happen here." Roxy led her upstairs.

"This is an upstairs project I haven't had one of those in awhile. I have a few pieces that will be perfect." Presley followed hot on their heels.

The upstairs was filled with racks of clothes.

"Wow, this is impressive." Rayna took a look around.

"He's a designer and a producer. My parents obviously passed down the creative gene with the two of us. He got the double dose of it. The boys get mad at us and run away to Uncle Presley all the time. He makes no rules even for himself." Roxy laughed.

"Shut up, Roxane. I have to go into work mode now. I can't argue with you." Presley eyed Rayna up and down. "This whole thing you have going on is age appropriate for anyone else your age. You don't look your age though. You can be an agin' woman in this town and still be hot." He picked a few different items of clothing off the racks. "You need to go try that on. I need to work on shoes. The heels are great, but I think I can do better than that for you."

Rayna took the clothes from him. "Ok, I'm gonna let go for a change and let this happen."

"He's remarkably good at this for a straight man isn't he?" Roxy grinned.

"He's great." Rayna went to go change.

"Hold up, boots." Presley gave her a pair of cowboy boots with pink accents on them.

"Thank you," Rayna went into one of the spare rooms to change.

"Rox, how did you pull this one off? You've never had a legend before." Presley was going through a drawer of accessories.

"Deacon came through. He needed a favor and she was the favor. I'm not gonna complain." Roxy shrugged her shoulders.

"I ain't gonna complain 'bout you comin' over this early and there not bein' an emergency. I mean this is way better than most of my days start." Presley picked up a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"Don't act like you don't love me." Roxy took his cigarette and took a drag off of it. She put it back in his mouth.

"I never said I didn't love you. You know that you're my big sister and I'll do anythin' for ya." Presley took an assortment of rings out of a drawer.

"I know that. You're the perfect little brother." Roxy kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. The check is on is the fridge by the way." Presley grabbed some bracelets.

"You don't have to do this every month." Roxy sighed.

"Yes, I do. When you and Trina came to me and wanted me to father the oldest one for ya I told ya that you two would always be his parents, but that I would help out. One day he's gonna have questions and I want him to know that his old man ain't a deadbeat." Presley searched for a necklace.

"A dirty agin' man child hipster that's what you are. You're not a deadbeat though. Also, you're probably the biggest pothead I've ever met. That's sayin' somethin' comin' from me. I used to be a dealer I met quite a few potheads in my day." Roxy arched her eyebrow at him.

"Speakin' of that. I'm runnin' low." Presley selected a belt with studs on it.

"I figured. I brought you some it's in my purse. Consider it a thank you for doin' this." Roxy laughed at him. He was so predictable.

"I'll take it." Presley grabbed two different pairs of earrings. "Which ones?"

"Go with the dangly ones." Roxy pointed to the pair she meant.

"Perfect, I think that should do it. I know jack shit 'bout hair and makeup, so good thing you're here." Presley put his cigarette out.

"You know more than you wanna admit you know." Roxy pointed out to him.

"Shut up, skank." Presley winked at her.

"Shut up, bitch." Roxy shook her head at him.

"Roxy, I wish my older sister was more like you. All she does is nag me and get on my case to behave like a responsible CEO. You ply your little brother with pot." Rayna came out wearing a pair of black leather pants, a black V-neck t-shirt that was low cut, and the boots that Presley had given her.

"Holy shit, that's simple, but hot. I outdid myself this time." Presley smirked clearly impressed with himself.

"He's good and he knows he's good." Roxy made a face.

Presley took Rayna's right hand put the rings he'd picked out on her fingers. "I won't bother with your left hand it would be a shame to take away from beauty of that engagement ring." He fastened a leather band around her wrist.

"He did good when he picked my ring out. I think I'll keep it and him for a little while longer. You really are great at this. I could see my girls doin' some real damage in here." Rayna looked at him impressed.

"Put this on," Presley handed her the belt. "I try my best. I'm glad that you like my place."

"What's not to like about this place? I'm kinda in love with it actually." Rayna pulled her belt through the loops.

"Earrings," Presley gave her the pair that Roxy had picked out.

Rayna put them on. "Alright, what do you ya'll think?" she spun around.

"Pres, something's missin'." Roxy told him.

"I forget the necklace." Presley put a dangling diamond pendent around Rayna's neck. "There,"

"You're still missin' somethin'." Roxy corrected him.

"You're right, let me see here." Presley went back into the racks. He grabbed a leather jacket. "This should do it. Anythin' else is just too much."

Rayna shrugged into the jacket. "I love this. This is perfect."

"You knocked this outta the park, Pres. I owe you one." Roxy nudged him with her elbow.

"Speakin' of that. How much do I owe you?" Rayna asked him.

"You don't owe me anythin' for this. You wanna pay me back send those two daughters of yours my way." Presley waved off her offer to pay him.

"I will do that and I apologize in advanced for them. Also, my stylist may kill you for this if you see an angry little woman comin' your way run. She hits a hell of a lot harder than it looks like she would. And she is rabid when she wants to be." Rayna warned him.

"I'm well versed with rabid angry women I'll be on the lookout." Presley assured her.

"The makeover portion of today is almost over we just need to do your hair and makeup and we're ready." Roxy added.

"I think I can handle that." Rayna smiled.

* * *

JC pulled a barstool out for Maddie to sit on and he took a seat next to her. "So, we've been all over this town today. We've looked at more houses than I can count. Please tell me that we found one that we can agree on." He begged her.

"I know that you didn't like anything in the heart of downtown we can cross that off. I really like the Belle Meade house that we looked at. I know that you prefer the two that we looked at over by mom and dad's." Maddie listed off.

"Let's narrow it down between those three for now. Maddie, I would never fuckin' sleep if we got that Belle Meade house. I would give myself an ulcer worryin' that we were gonna go upside down on that mortgage. I know that money isn't really a worry for us, but I don't wanna get reckless. I don't wanna spend a hundred million on that when we two times the house and so much more land for a tenth of the price. The difference in price is we are fifteen minutes away from downtown. To me it's no contest." JC made his feelings known.

"This is an argument that I'm not gonna win. Not only am I not gonna win it I'm tired of arguing with you about it. So, we will narrow it down to those two out there. Here are my stipulations I get to renovate anyway that I want to and you don't get to complain about it. We just have to make a decision about which house we like better." Maddie relented finally.

"I like the one that's three miles up the road for the mere fact that we won't have to put a gate up one is already there. I like the house too." JC reached over the bar and grabbed a beer.

"You are so lucky that Riff is in back right now. He would kick your ass for reaching over his bar. Babe, if that is what you really, really want. It's ok with me. Like I said I can renovate and we can really make the place our own. I think that's all I ever cared about, baby. I just wanted us to do be in this together and make this decision together." Maddie took his hand.

"I ain't scared of Riff. He's more bark than bite. Cricket, I'm right here in this with you for the rest of our lives. You never have to worry 'bout how committed I am to you and the life that we are tryin' to build. I am hopelessly devoted to you, babe." JC kissed her hand.

"You are so damn sweet when you want to be. How'd I get so lucky?" Maddie blushed a little bit.

"You asked me to take my hat off." JC grinned a boyish grin.

Maddie took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. "It is so cute that you still remember that."

"How can I forget that? I'd known for six months that I wanted to be with you. And I knew the minute we did The End of the Day that this was forever and I hadn't even kissed you yet." JC brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are so stupid perfect." Maddie rested her forehead against his.

"Maddie, the guy always knows first. I knew and I have never once doubted it. I will never doubt that we are supposed to be together." JC rubbed her cheek gently.

"I love you so much." Maddie brushed her lips against his.

"I love you so much too, Cricket." JC kissed her passionately.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 44

"Dad, do you have any damn clue what your wife is up to today?" Daphne walked into Deacon's office without bothering to knock.

"Shh, keep your voice down. Your baby brother is nappin'. God help us all if he wakes up and his momma ain't here. If he finishes out his nap I can pacify him 'til she gets home, but if he wakes up early he's gonna be hell." Deacon put his finger up to his lips.

"She was down in the Gulch with one of your friends apparently. I think that maybe I should be worried." Daphne kept her voice low.

"Don't be worried I know where she was headed if she was down there. She was with Roxy. Maddie has met her. She's pretty damn cool actually. I think that you'd like her a lot. I know you'd like her brother. I actually want to introduce you to him. That's beside the point though. Your momma is fine." Deacon reassured her.

"Does this have anything to do with why you had to drive all the way to New Orleans to be with her?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, she is havin' a career crisis right now. This is my way of gettin' her sorted out. It shouldn't take much longer. My solutions are usually quick and efficient." Deacon waved off her concern.

"Dad, you're really not normal." Daphne shook her head.

"It's her turn, Daph. She's basically been a stay at home mother to Henry. She ain't done with her career though. She let me have my turn it's her turn again. I think she needs this more than I do. Her and Maddie they need all that glitz and glam. They enjoy all the rhinestones and sparkles and stadium shows. Somehow you took after your dad and you're just happy to have some place to play and have people to listen to you." Deacon replied.

"Someday I want a man that loves me the way you love her. I love mom and I love Maddie, but they can be selfish self-centered bitches when they want to be. I don't know how you and Jimmy handle them the way you do. They are my mom and sister and sometimes I want to strangle them." Daphne stressed.

"Don't call your momma a bitch only I can if I feel like sleepin' on the couch. Besides I raised you girls better than to back talk her you save your sass for me and we will deal with it together." Deacon reminded her.

"I haven't forgotten that rule. It probably saved my life a lot as a teenager and it got Maddie grounded a lot from what I recall." Daphne laughed a little.

"That's because Maddie has me and your momma in her. That mouth and temper of hers are gonna get her in some real trouble one of these days. She'd take it over the line and you always stayed on the right side of the line. If it were still in my power to ground Maddie I would. Your sister and I go at it tit for tat cause we are so damn much alike." Deacon chuckled.

"This wedding stuff isn't starting to hit home for you isn't it?" Daphne asked him.

"This weddin' stuff is really hittin' home. It's harder than I thought it would be. I'm gonna be ok though." Deacon gave her a small smile. He grabbed his phone off his desk when it buzzed and his smile faltered.

"What's wrong, dad?" Daphne frowned.

"That was your sister she said she has news. She wants to do dinner tonight. I think it's gonna make me sad. I'm gonna have to bring your momma in off walk about." Deacon scrunched his nose up.

Daphne looked over at Jack who stretched out in his sleep. "Aw, how can anyone be sad when they have something so pretty to look at?"

"That is one pretty little boy isn't he? He gets it from his momma. He's the one I watch sleep when I can't sleep. He always looks so peaceful when he's sleepin'. He sleeps like you and your momma. I used to watch you sleep too. When you were in high school and you'd fall asleep on the couch not just any couch mind ya, but my couch. You'd fall asleep there and when I couldn't sleep I'd sit in the recliner with my guitar and watch you sleep and it would calm me. There's just somethin' 'bout watchin' my babies sleep that brings me peace." Deacon smiled again.

"Have I ever told you what a good dad you are?" Daphne walked around the desk and hugged him.

"You have, but thanks for tellin' me again. I always love to hear it. It makes me think that maybe I got somethin' right. I love ya'll so damn much." Deacon hugged her back. "What are you doin' in this neck of the woods anyway?"

"I had a date with Joel before he went to some off-season conditioning thing." Daphne blushed.

"Aw, I think my little girl is quite taken with that Georgia boy." Deacon teased her.

"Stop it, daddy. I just barely started dating him." Daphne kissed his head.

"I like givin' ya'll a hard time. When are you gonna figure that out?" Deacon laughed.

"Shh, don't wake the five-year-old baby." Daphne gave him hell about how he babied Jack.

"I still don't baby him as much as your mother does. He'll be her twenty-five-year-old baby. I'm the only one who can drop him off at preschool. I can't even imagine what it's gonna be like when he starts kindergarten." Deacon shook with laughter.

"It's not possible that anyone could baby him as much as mom does." Daphne kissed his cheek. "I should get going. If I want to get some studio time in before dinner I should go now. If I run into mom I will let her know."

"I don't think you'll be runnin' into your momma. I'll get ahold of her. You go have fun. I can't wait to hear the new album. Just the sample that I've heard is very good. You're workin' with Avery right?" Deacon couldn't keep it straight in his head what all his artists were doing.

"No, I'm just laying down tracks right now. I don't have a producer. Mom was gonna help me with that, but then you got sick." Daphne explained.

"That's my first priority. I will go through my contacts and see what I can do for you. If it comes down to it I will produce you myself. It'll go a lot more smoothly than any of the times I produced your sister." Deacon replied.

"Thanks, dad, you're the best." Daphne kissed his cheek again.

"Now, get outta my hair and let me work." Deacon laughed.

"AKA get to your nap." Daphne waved at him when she walked out.

"We did good with that one. She knows better than to interrupt nap time." Deacon put his feet up on his desk and laced his hands behind his head.

* * *

"Roxy, I'm not sure about this at all." Rayna watched as Roxy took a guitar out.

"You wanna be reckless we are gonna be reckless. When's the last time you really stripped it all down? There's no better way to do it than by playin' on the streets. This is all the other stuff stripped away and it's you usin' your greatest instrument, your voice." Roxy gave her a pep talk.

"What the hell? Let's do this. You're the one with the guitar I'm trustin' you to have my back." Rayna relented.

"For a bitch to look as badass as you do right now you have to own that. Don't worry 'bout anythin' else. Just stand and deliver." Roxy advised her.

"I can do that." Rayna smiled.

"There's a catch though. I've got the guitar. We are gonna start with somethin' that's not country. We are steppin' outta of your comfort zone." Roxy smirked.

"You haven't steered me wrong yet. Let's do this." Rayna gestured for her to go ahead.

"Please tell me that you know Melissa Etheridge." Roxy begged her.

"Of course, I do. Good lord, what kind of person do you think I am?" Rayna laughed.

"There aren't enough hours in the day for me to answer that question for you. It's a professional hazard. Stop stallin' let's play." Roxy laughed with her.

"Fair point, take it away." Rayna gestured for her to play.

Roxy started to play.

" _Please baby can't you see my mind's a burnin' hell. I got razors a rippin' and tearin' and strippin' my heart apart as well. Tonight you told me that you ache for somethin' new. Cause some other woman is lookin' like somethin' that might be good for you. Go on and hold her 'til the screamin' is gone. Go on believe her when she tells you nothings wrong."_ Rayna started to belt out the song.

A crowd started to gather around them.

" _But I'm the only one who'll walk across the fire for you. And I'm the only one who'll drown in my desire for you. It's only fear that makes you run the demons that you're hidin' from when all your promises are gone. I'm the only one."_ Rayna's hips started to sway as she loosened up.

Roxy smiled as she saw the change in Rayna's demeanor.

" _Please baby can't you see I'm tryin' to explain I've been here before and I'm lockin' the door and I'm not goin' back again. Her eyes and arms and skin won't make it go away. You'll wake up tomorrow and wrestle the sorrow that holds you down today. Go on and hold her 'til the screamin' is gone. Go on believe her when she tells you nothing's wrong."_ Rayna flipped her hair to the side.

" _But I'm the only one who'll walk across the fire for you. And I'm the only one who'll drown in my desire for you. It's only fear that makes you run the demons that you're hidin' from when all your promises are gone. I'm the only one."_

" _Go on and hold her 'til the screamin' is gone. Go on believe her when she tells you nothing's wrong. But I'm the only one who'll walk across the fire for you. And I'm the only one who'll drown in my desire for you. It's only fear that makes you run the demons that you're hidin' from when all your promises are gone. I'm the only one."_ Rayna could feel all of her stress melt away.

" _Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm the only one who'll walk across the fire for you. And I'm the only one who'll drown in my desire for you. It's only fear that makes you run the demons that you're hidin' from when all your promises are gone. I'm the only one."_ Rayna finished the song to loud applause from the gathered crowd.

"How'd that feel?" Roxy asked.

"That was amazin'. It hasn't felt that good in a long time. I mean that felt great." Rayna gushed.

"Well, it didn't sound like a sack of cats bein' beat with a baseball bat, but we both know that that was never your problem." Roxy laughed.

"Have things gotten so bad over at Highway Sixty-five that you've had to resort to this? I can try to get my album out quicker." Sadie looked over the top of her sunglasses at her friend.

"Sadie, this is so not what you think it is. What are you even doin' down here?" Rayna asked her.

"I'm escaping my completely tyrannical father-in-law for the day. I left Wy with him and I ran away. They will keep each other entertained for a little while. So, I came all the way down here for coffee. Imagine my surprise to find you here lookin' like Sandra Dee after her makeover." Sadie answered.

"You are supposed to be one of my best friends." Rayna pretended to be hurt.

"I'm kiddin' you look hot. Roxy knows what she's doin' listen to her." Sadie snapped a picture of her.

"Sadie, I swear to God you better not put that on Twitter or any of those other social media sites. My daughters will see it for sure that way. Wait a minute. You know Roxy?" Rayna looked confused.

"You think you're the only person that Deacon has ever dumped in Roxy's care? He did it to me a few years ago. I needed a reboot. This time I still don't know what's wrong with me. Paul is makin' me push through it though. That's why I'm runnin' away from him right now." Sadie replied. "Oh, and you're totally too late on that Twitter thing."

"Sadie, why don't you join us?" Roxy suggested.

"Why not? I already have a babysitter." Sadie shrugged her shoulders.

"You let Paul drive your kids? Have you lost your mind? Do you know how many speedin' tickets that man has? Hailey told him one more and she's not handlin' it for him." Rayna's jaw hung open.

"God no, I won't get in the car with Paul much less let my kids get in the car with him. Scarlett is doin' school pickups today. Damn I ain't crazy." Sadie laughed.

"Woman, stop flappin' your jaws and get over here." Roxy waved her over.

"I'm comin'." Sadie walked over.

* * *

"Careful, Jack Henry, that's hot." JC turned the pan around on the stove so the little boy couldn't grab it. "I'll let you help me, but I don't want ya gettin' hurt." He picked him up and put him on his hip.

"Ok, Jimmy," Jack threw his arms around his neck.

"Babe, mom, is so gonna kill you when she gets home. You moved all her stuff around." Maddie leaned against the counter watching him.

"I ain't scared of Rayna. I should be, but I'm not. She'll yell at me a little bit and I can take it." JC rolled his eyes.

"Maddie, where is momma?" Jack asked his sister.

"I have no idea where our momma is." Maddie opened one of the apps on her phone. She made a face when she saw the first thing to pop up. "Dad!"

Deacon ran into the kitchen panting. He put his hand on his chest. "Maddie, what is it? I'm just now gettin' my stamina back this better be important."

"Do you have any idea what your wife has been up to today?" Maddie showed him her phone.

Deacon looked at it and laughed. "Oh God, you gotta love Roxy."

"I'm sorry, someone needs to tell her that she's a mother and she doesn't get to be that sexy." Maddie groaned loudly.

"Maddie, princess, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but this has nothin' to do with you. This is somethin' that your momma needs to do for herself. And I'm completely on board with this. We need to give her the freedom to do this and just support her. She really, really needs this." Deacon stressed to her.

"She can do whatever she needs to do without busking in the streets, dad. Especially looking like that." Maddie argued.

"She looks twenty years younger than she is anyway, but in that outfit she looks even younger. Yes, she does have to do this. We don't have to understand it we just have to support her." Deacon leveled her with a harsh stare.

"Fine, I'm backing off. If you're ok with your wife looking that sexy out in public for the whole world to see than I'm not gonna say anything." Maddie sighed.

"Cricket, this is one of those times that you just need to let it go." JC advised her.

"Jimmy, now is one of those times that it would be better for you to shut your mouth." Maddie glared at him.

"Ok, it's official I give up. No more of this bullshit. I can't help Jamey with his fourth-grade math and I'm normally way better at math than this. What they have him doing is way beyond my comprehension." Daphne walked into the kitchen from the other room.

"You lasted longer than your mother ever does. You get points for that. But, don't let Jamey play dumb he's a lot smarter than he wants anyone to know. If he can get you to do his homework for him he will. He's pretty sly that way. That's why I try to separate him and Deac durin' homework time. Deac will do all the homework and not realize that his brother is a little sponge." Deacon chuckled.

"He's a little con man in other words. I don't know where he would get that from." Daphne got a bottle of water from the fridge.

"From your mother. Have you ever met your grandfather? Your Pa ain't smart enough to be a conman. Your pawpaw on the other hand I don't think there's a way to weed out what he's mixed up in." Deacon snorted.

"Deacon, watch your mouth in front of the little one. He repeats everything." Rayna came in the side door.

"There she is. We've been waitin' on you, babe." Deacon smiled.

Jack squirmed out of JC's arms and ran to Rayna. "Momma!"

Rayna scooped him up and kissed both his cheeks. "There's my baby. Momma missed you so much."

"Where were you, momma? You weren't there when daddy brought me back to the office today." Jack threw his arms around her neck.

"Momma, was out workin'. I'm sorry I wasn't at the office when you got there. I don't like it when you're unhappy." Rayna snuggled him.

"If only that applied to her oldest two children." Maddie mumbled.

"Maddie!" Deacon and JC barked at her in unison.

Rayna sat Jack on his feet. "Sweetie, go check on your brothers and sister and keep them honest about their homework." She kissed his cheek and sent him to the other room. "Maddie, is there somethin' that you'd like to say to me?"

"Yeah, I have something that I'd like to say to you. You are my mother it is inexcusable that you look hotter than I would in that outfit. I'm highly upset about that. Damn, mom, I hope when I'm your age I look that good." Maddie changed her tune after the look she got from her father.

"You've got the DNA, baby girl." Rayna grinned at her.

"Seriously, mom, you're fucking hot. There's no way you're as old as I know you are. And your hair always looks amazing, but I don't know what you did to it today it looks really great." Maddie told her.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. Watch your fuckin' mouth though." Rayna hugged her. "And tell your groom to be to put everything in this kitchen back where he found it."

"He said that he's not scared of you." Maddie threw JC under the bus.

"He's not that smart. I'm really not surprised." Rayna chuckled.

"Babe, pay less attention to our kids for a minute and come pay attention to your husband. I'm havin' some real specific thoughts 'bout your look here." Deacon had a dopey grin on his face.

"Oh, is that so?" Rayna pressed her chest up against his.

"Do you even know who I am? You had to know how I was gonna react to this outfit. You are so damn hot, baby." Deacon rested his forehead against hers.

"Oh, I knew without a doubt how you'd react to this outfit. I just didn't know that we would have a kitchen full of kids when you saw it." Rayna walked her fingers over his chest.

"Ew, I would like to take this time to remind you that said kids are in the room right now." Daphne made a sound of disgust.

"We know that ya'll are here. We ain't gonna get carried away." Deacon kissed Rayna deeply.

"And then we wonder how they ended up with six kids." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I don't think anyone has ever looked at the two of them and wondered that." JC arched his eyebrow.

Daphne stepped between her parents. "That'll be enough of that from you two. Each of you need to go to your separate corners. I don't want another brother or sister now or ever."

"I've told both you girls that you ain't gotta worry 'bout that. I had someone with a birthday comin' up soon in my late forties. I can't imagine havin' another one at this age. If I have another one your dad knows the deal. He's gotta stay home and take care of it." Rayna assured her.

"Mom, how is that a punishment for dad? Or all that different from what he's done for the last decade? Except now he'd enjoy it way more. He'd get to stay home and nap all day." Maddie pointed out to her.

"Listen to the mouth on you. I'm so glad that you're Jimmy's problem now." Rayna pinched her cheek and smirked.

"I don't nap quite as much as ya'll think I do. I only nap when my insomnia is really bad and you know sometimes when I'm gettin' Henry down for a nap and I accidently fall asleep too." Deacon defended himself.

"Maddie, Jimmy, why don't ya'll tell us why you wanted to do dinner tonight?" Rayna suggested.

"Please do, Maddie. I need this conversation to be over." Daphne begged her sister.

"You and me both." Maddie stood next to JC.

JC wrapped his arm around Maddie's waist. "Cricket, you can tell 'em they're your parents."

"Mom, dad, Daph, Jimmy and I bought a house today. Or rather Jimmy bought me a house today because of reasons that I don't wanna get into." Maddie reported.

"You're broke." Deacon and Rayna answered in unison.

"Yeah, I spent my royalties check on things. You know that I don't touch my trust funds or savings." Maddie replied. "Anyway, we bought a house."

"That is so great I wanna hear everythin'. I'm so proud of you two." Rayna hugged Maddie.

"Wow, that's somethin' else." Deacon's eyes teared up.

"Daddy, I'm really only going three miles up the road. I'll be closer now than when I first moved out." Maddie went over in hugged him.

"I love you and I'm so proud of you. This is just a little harder on me than I thought it would be. You're my little girl and I ain't ready. The important thing is that you are though. I'm very happy for you, princess." Deacon hugged her back tightly.

"Jimmy, come here." Rayna held her arms open to him.

"Rayna," JC hugged her so tightly he picked her up off the ground.

"James Clay, put me down right now." Rayna laughed.

"Sorry, I get a little over excited sometimes." JC put her back on her feet.

"I know you do, buddy." Rayna patted him on the back.

"Jimmy, when are you gettin' outta my barn?" Deacon teased him.

"As soon as we get the house renovated I will be outta the bunkhouse. Not that I'm even there that often I'm at the apartment with Maddie more often than not." JC pointed out to him.

"I know that. I was just givin' you a hard time." Deacon laughed.

"Daph, it's kinda up to mom since she's the one paying the bill, but once I'm done with the renovations and start moving my stuff the apartment is all yours as far as I'm concerned." Maddie turned to her sister.

"I'm not gonna turn down that offer. It's great for when I've been in the studio all day and don't feel like coming back here." Daphne shrugged.

"Or you wanna have your way with your boyfriend. I'm just saying." Maddie smirked.

"I am so done with you. Must you always try to get me in trouble?" Daphne pushed her sister's shoulder.

"Yes, I do have to. It gives me a sense of satisfaction. You're too well behaved you make me look bad." Maddie pushed her back.

"Girls, keep your hands to yourselves. I let you get away with that and I lose the high road with the little ones when I tell them not to beat up on each other." Rayna scolded them.

"All you have to worry 'bout is Charlie beatin' up on them boys and they deserve it most of the time." JC laughed.

"True as that may be. I don't want her to know that. I want her to find another way of conflict resolution. I want her to rely on her brain and not her fists. It took someone I know a long time to figure that out." Rayna looked pointedly at Deacon.

"I had nothin' to do with this don't drag me into it. I'm just innocently standin' over here." Deacon put his hands up in a sign of innocence.

"Honey, if that doesn't describe you t don't know what does." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Alright, true, that used to be me." Deacon granted her point.

"How soon is dinner gonna be ready? I haven't eaten all day, but there may have been a few drinks this afternoon. Also, I'm gonna need someone to go pick up my car. I don't really want to leave it in that neighborhood overnight." Rayna asked.

"Dinner is almost ready. And Deacon and I will go pick your car up after." JC volunteered.

"Maddie, just so you know this is why I like him better than you." Rayna told her daughter.

"Mother, I don't even let you bother me anymore." Maddie shook her head.

"Come on, Mad, let's go get the little ones rounded up for dinner." Daphne took her sister by the elbow before she could get herself in trouble.

"Ray, babe, how'd you get home?" Deacon questioned.

"Sadie, dropped me off. Long story just don't ask." Rayna kissed him to keep him from asking another question.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	45. Chapter 45

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 45

"Alright, little man, how much longer you gonna be in this bathtub? I brought your pajamas." Rayna sat on top of the toilet seat and watched Jack play with his bath toys.

"I playin', momma." Jack pushed his little tugboat around.

"I know you're playin', but it's just about your bedtime. I still need to wash your hair, so, you don't smell like a little foot. I know that daddy doesn't exactly enforce the soap rule as long as you get wet, but daddy isn't handling bath time tonight I am." Rayna told him.

"Alright, momma," Jack sighed.

"Go under the water and get your hair wet." Rayna got on her knees beside the tub and grabbed the shampoo.

"You look really pretty, momma." Jack smiled up at her.

"Thank you, baby, you're really handsome." Rayna started to shampoo his hair. Once she thought that he was clean enough she rinsed his hair. "Alright, all done. I washed your body earlier. Climb on out, my little water baby." She held a towel open for him and wrapped it around him.

"Why do you look so pretty today, momma? You normally only get this dressed up when you have to go sing." Jack played with Rayna's hair and laid his head on her shoulder.

"Because while your momma might be on the crazy train right now your daddy is completely off his rocker and he has friends that are as crazy as he is. Ok, let's not get momma all wet." Rayna stood him on top of the toilet and dried him off.

"Daddy isn't off his rocker. He sleeps in the rockin' chair in my room all the time." Jack giggled.

"Your silly momma should have thought of that. Your daddy isn't gonna give up a comfy chair if he can take a nap in it." Rayna loved the sound of his little laugh. It was the sweetest, purest thing she had ever heard. She put his underwear on him and then his pajamas.

"Daddy really likes his naps." Jack added.

"Daddy likes to watch his babies sleep and sometimes seeing ya'll so peaceful puts him to sleep." Rayna combed his hair and kissed his cheek. "Brush your teeth and I'll be right back."

"Ok, momma," Jack grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste.

"I gotta go check on your brothers and sister make sure that they are staying outta trouble." Rayna walked down the hall to check on the other three.

Deac was in his bed playing his guitar.

"Well, listen to you. You're sound like you're a Claybourne or somethin'." Rayna stuck her head into his room.

"I am a Claybourne, momma." Deac pointed out to her.

"Then that explains why you can play guitar so well." Rayna smiled at him.

"I'm workin' at it, momma." Deac replied.

"Well, you've got fifteen more minutes before bedtime. Make it count. And keep workin' on that song it's soundin' much better than it did last week." Rayna praised him.

Jayme sat up at his desk still working on his homework.

"Hey, Jay, how much more of that do you have to do?" Rayna asked.

"I just finished my last question." Jayme slammed his book shut.

"Now you have a few minutes to kill until bedtime. You can do anythin' you wanna do." Rayna told him.

"Why do we always have to have so much homework?" Jayme groaned.

"Because you have to learn things. And you can't learn without practicing. It's a lot like learnin' to play guitar. You have to keep on it or you'll never get any better. I agree that you do have a little much homework though. I hated school too, kiddo. It's not fun, but it's somethin' that you have to do. Just hang in there. I know that you're doin' the very best you can. That's all you ever have to give me is your best." Rayna leaned against the doorjamb.

"Thanks, momma, I do the best I can." Jayme replied.

"I know you do. You just have to work harder at it than your brother and sister do. Maddie was always like that too. You're not the only one who has trouble with school." Rayna replied.

"Maddie is super pretty and she sings real good. She doesn't have to worry 'bout bein' smart. Daph is real smart and sings good. Deac has like a computer for a brain he just learns things without a problem. Charlie is the same way. Jack just has to look cute and he's set." Jayme sighed.

Rayna walked over and sat on the bed and patted it for him to sit next to her. "Listen to me, my boy, you're more valuable than you know. You have your own talents even though you may not realize what they are yet. You also may be a late bloomer, honey, but you're a little young yet and you have a ton more time to figure yourself out. It may not seem like it now, but there is this whole world full of possibilities out there waitin' for you. I'm not the super smart sister either that's your Aunt Tandy." She hugged him to her side.

"I just feel like I'm the dud." Jamey admitted.

"Oh, honey, you aren't a dud. You're far from a dud. You are one of the great loves of my life, Jaymes Wyatt Claybourne. Don't you ever talk about yourself like that. Just because you haven't found the value in yourself yet doesn't mean that you aren't one of the most valuable things in the world to me. Deal?" Rayna kissed the top of his head.

"Deal, momma." Jayme agreed.

"You just get yourself ready for bed. I've gotta go check on your sister." Rayna stood up.

"Ok, momma." Jamey replied.

Charlie was in her bed reading a book.

"Look at you, Miss Pistol, already in bed. You may be the good one after all. Given what I know about your sisters and your brothers are three bad little boys." Rayna sat on the edge of her bed.

"I'm waitin' for daddy to come tuck me in." Charlie laid her book down on her chest.

"You still have a few more minutes. I just wanted to come check up on you." Rayna leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I'm fine. You ain't gotta check up on me, momma." Charlie smiled.

"You're my baby girl of course I do. You may be one of the good ones, but I don't know that I can trust you not to burn the house down or shoot out a window with your compound bow." Rayna chuckled softly.

"I'm only allowed to play with my bow away from the house. And I'm not allowed to start fires without daddy present." Charlie parroted dutifully.

"You really are Deacon Junior you know that?" Rayna asked her.

"That's what daddy says too. I'm not sure what that means." Charlie retorted.

"It means that you are the female version of your father. And I wouldn't have you any other way." Rayna rubbed her arm.

"Thanks, momma." Charlie smiled.

"I left your little brother in the bathroom to brush his teeth. I better get back to him and get him in bed. I don't wanna know what kinda mess he will make if left alone for too long." Rayna shuddered at the thought.

"Momma, that wasn't a smart move. Daddy found out the hard way what he can do." Charlie laughed.

"Oh, I'm goin' right now." Rayna rushed back to the bathroom. "How are you doin' in here, Jack?"

"I got all my teeth brushed, momma." Jack grinned big so she could see his teeth. There was a bunch of toothpaste around his mouth.

"Oh, honey, look at that mouth." Rayna picked up a wash rag and wiped his mouth. "There we go, now you're ready for bed."

"I sleep in big bed." Jack smiled sweetly at her.

"Jack Henry, your daddy would kill me if I let you sleep in the big bed tonight. You are gonna go sleep in Jack's bed. Maybe Deac will let you borrow Elvis for just tonight if you're lucky. Would you like that?" Rayna picked him up and put him on her hip.

"Yeah," Jack agreed.

Rayna carried him down the hall to Deac's room. "Hey, Bubba, you little brother has a favor to ask you."

"Can Elvis sleep with me tonight, please?" Jack said in his cute little voice.

Deac whistled and the dog raised his head from his spot on the floor. "Elvis, you go with Henry for the night. I'll see you tomorrow."

Elvis yawned and made a big show out of stretching out.

"Come on, Elvis, let's go to Jack's room." Rayna called him. She winked at her oldest son. "Thank you, Bubba." She carried Jack to his bedroom. He was basically right across the hall from his parents. "Get in bed."

Jack climbed into his racecar bed. "Come get in bed, Elvis."

Elvis jumped up in bed and curled up next to Jack.

"Jack, did you know that Elvis was really supposed to be Maddie and Daphne's dog?" Rayna didn't bother to tuck him in. She knew that Deacon would come in and do it. He was on permanent tuck in duty.

"Really? I always thought he was Deac's dog." Jack snuggled with the dog and yawned.

"Daddy bought him for Mad and Daph. Over the years he just sorta became Deac's dog. Daddy bought him without tellin' me." Rayna kissed his forehead.

"Daddy knows better." Jack was wise beyond his years.

"Oh, my little love, you are so, so smart." Rayna laughed at him. "Do you want me to tuck you in or do you want to wait for daddy?"

"I'll wait for daddy." Jack said after he thought it over.

"I thought so." Rayna kissed his head again. "Night, momma loves you."

"I love you too, momma." Jack replied.

Rayna went made her rounds between the other three before heading downstairs.

Deacon hung her car keys up on the hook in the kitchen. "They ready for me?"

"They are. Start with the little one and work your way up." Rayna told him.

"I'm gonna grab my guitar and take care of them. Then I'll meet you in our bedroom. Don't you dare change outta that outfit." Deacon grabbed one of his guitars.

"I didn't plan on it." Rayna smirked.

"I'm glad that we're on the same page." Deacon winked at her.

* * *

Rayna waited in the office until she heard Deacon head back downstairs to put his guitar up to head to their bedroom. She was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed when he walked in.

"I think I have to be the luckiest son of a bitch in the world. I just got done tuckin' my four amazin' kids into bed and now I come in here to my smokin' hot wife waitin' on me. I'm tellin' ya life don't get any better than this." Deacon had a goofy grin on his face.

"Life sure doesn't get any better than this. I've kinda left you in the lurch all day. So, do you wanna talk now or later?" Rayna asked him.

"There ain't no way I can concentrate to talk now. We can talk after." Deacon laughed at the suggestion.

"Of course, I shoulda known. It has been a couple days for us." Rayna pushed her jacket off her shoulders and threw it on the chair beside the bed.

Deacon pulled his shirt over his head and threw it aside. "You have no idea how hot you look."

"The feelin' is mutual, babe. You barely even have a scar now." Rayna took her shirt off.

"Come here," Deacon pulled her to her feet and kissed her while he undid her bra. "Jesus, babe, did you paint these pants on?" He undid her pants.

"They are leather, babe. They just look like they're painted on." Rayna smiled against his lips. She undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans.

"I love the way they look on ya." Deacon moved his lips to her neck.

They both kicked their boots off and finished undressing each other.

"Bed, bed now." Rayna fell backwards onto the bed and pulled him on top of her.

"Ain't gotta tell me twice." Deacon hooked her leg over his hip and sank into her with a moan.

Rayna wrapped her other leg around his waist and rocked her hips against his.

Deacon wasted no time and he started to thrust into her hard and fast.

Rayna threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled it roughly when he started to bite and suck on her neck.

Deacon dug his fingers into her hips and kissed her hard.

Rayna bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Damn, baby, you want it rough tonight." Deacon pinned her arms above her head.

"Do your worst, babe. I can handle it." Rayna panted.

"Careful what you wish for." Deacon took her nipple between his teeth and bit down gently.

Her back arched up off the bed and she moaned loudly.

He smirked to himself and did the same thing to her other nipple.

With the tempo that they had set it didn't take long until she tumbled over the edge. He slowed his thrusts while she orgasmed to let her ride it out.

"Babe, give me my hands I wanna touch you." She begged him.

He released her writs. "There ya go, baby."

She ran her hands up and down his chest and then she pinched his nipples.

"Shit," He groaned.

She used his distraction to take advantage of the situation and flipped them over. She put her hands on his shoulders to give her leverage while she rode him.

"It ain't gonna take much more, babe." He moaned.

"For me either." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and bent down to kiss him.

He moaned loudly when she squeezed her walls around him every time she pushed her hips down.

A few minutes later they both came together.

She collapsed on top of him panting. "God, babe."

"It ain't been like that in a long time." He breathed heavily.

"That was like when we first got together." She kissed his chest and laughed.

"That was somethin' else is what that was." He rubbed her back.

"I guess you wanna get to that talk I promised you this morning." Rayna looked up at him.

"That would be nice. I'm kinda in the dark here." Deacon replied.

"You know about Vince. He told me that he couldn't help me the way that he helped you, because he understood you better than anyone. He told me that I had to go to the one place that I didn't want to go." Rayna started her tale.

"Lamar's house." Deacon filled in the blank.

"Exactly, only he wasn't sending me to my daddy. I can't explain it, but I know I talked to my momma last night. She was the one I needed to talk to." Rayna searched his face to see if he thought she was crazy.

"Honey, I don't doubt you for a moment. If you say that you were talkin' to your momma I believe ya. Hell, if I can believe that I actually talked to Vince I believe you." Deacon replied.

"Accordin' to my momma you're my problem. Or rather we're each other's problem. We domesticated each other and we lost our edge. I had to find the artist I used to be before I was a wife, momma, and label head and grab hold of her again. I did that today. I had so much fun today without all the pressure that is normally on me. I just got to perform. That being said I like my rhinestones and actual stages. It was good for me to strip it down." Rayna told him.

"We did domesticate each other. I can agree with that. Babe, I'm so glad that you found what you were lookin' for. I won't lie when I drove down to New Orleans and saw how you were I was really worried 'bout you." Deacon breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was really worried about me too. I still wanna do that whole bar tour that I talked to you about. I thought that we could write my new album together while we do that. You know that I always need all the help that I can get." Rayna informed him.

"We will make that happen. I think we could do twenty cities in a month just a small thing and then we could do a bigger tour this summer if you want to." Deacon would do whatever it took to make her happy.

"Or and this is just an idea we can take the summer off and work on my album. Our daughter is getting married and we have to take the kids on an actual vacation this year. They've been all over the world, but they've grown up on a tour bus. They haven't really got to experience any of the places that we've been without us rushing off to work. I have a really radical idea if you wanna hear it." Rayna rested her chin on his chest.

"I'm always up for a radical idea when it comes to you." Deacon grinned.

"Jack won't turn five until July. I don't want him to be that young and start school right away. Here is my thinkin'. We do whatever little tour that we're gonna do then we take the summer off to record my album. And we just do the next year in style. The huge stadium tour we cover the US, Canada, and Europe and then I'm done until they're all older. I'll still tour a little and make albums, but as much as I love this I love bein' their momma more. That's what I learned about myself today. I found my edge, but I don't miss it. I'm happy, babe." Rayna pitched her idea to him.

"We always said that when we got older that we would take a step back from the tourin' side of the business and we would focus more on runnin' the label and bein' with the kids. We can spend more time up at the cabin and when we bought this house we said it was our retirement plan. Lord knows I can be happy just playin' the Opry and places 'round town as I would be tourin'." Deacon smiled down at her.

"I think we have a plan then." Rayna smiled back at him.

"Wow, our baby girl bought a house today." Deacon sighed a little.

"I know. Actually, her fiancé bought her a house because we know that our daughter is incapable of managing her own money and we do it for her. We will probably continue to do it for her for as long as we live. Only because I don't trust those damn money managers and Tandy will just tell me what to do." Rayna laughed.

"Please tell me that those two little idiots are gettin' a prenup. With as much money as they have between 'em they need one. I'm one to lecture 'cause we ain't got one. But you and I are forever." Deacon kissed her head.

"Oh, they're gettin' a prenup they just don't know it yet. With you and I even if we did split up neither one of us would ever try to take anythin' from the other. It would hurt the kids and we ain't gonna do that. Besides that, you and I have such a tangled up financial mess that no one could ever figure out how to separate that. We have four houses, three businesses, and I don't know how many cars between the two of us. I ain't even worried about it. Like you said we're forever. And we are prepared in case anythin' should happen." Rayna rattled off.

"And we don't even have joint bank accounts. Imagine how much harder it would be if we did." Deacon just shook his head.

"I don't even wanna think about it." Rayna rubbed his chest.

"Wanna have more hot, dirty sex?" Deacon suggested.

"I'm never gonna say no to that." Rayna grinned.

* * *

"Look who's back in the office today. You sure you wouldn't rather be slutting it up on the street corner again today?" Tandy stared her sister down when she walked into the office.

"Shut up, Tandy. You're a pain in the ass. I wasn't slutting it up. I took a mental health day. I'm pretty sure that you could use a day off as a matter of fact. Take one this place will not burn to the ground without you." Rayna reassured her.

"Not today though. Uh, you have an appointment waiting for you in your office. Where's your husband? It's really important that you answer that question." Tandy grew serious.

"The last I checked I didn't have anything on the books for today much less this early. Deacon is takin' the kids to school and then he'll stop for coffee and doughnuts because I asked him to. Why?" Rayna looked confused.

"Good, that's really good. I want you to remain calm when I tell you this. From what I heard you weren't calm the last time you saw him. Teddy is in your office and he wants to talk." Tandy told her.

"Fuck! That's the last way I wanted to start my morning. If Deacon comes in just try to keep him occupied. I don't want those two duking it out in my office." Rayna took a deep breath.

"Like I said be calm. You don't wanna blow your top either." Tandy rubbed her shoulders.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Rayna marched into her office.

Teddy was sitting in the chair across the desk from Rayna's.

"Teddy, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off in Washington doing my daddy's bidding?" Rayna quipped.

"My daughter's engagement party is on Saturday. I wanted to know if I should bother showing up or if I should make my excuses to her?" Teddy clenched his jaw.

"I almost lost my husband because of a decision that you made. I was admittedly in a highly emotional state that night. Alright, I'll call it what it was. I was pissed the fuck off. Maybe I flew off the handle a little." Rayna replied.

"Look, you have to understand. I was scared to death of losing my daughter. You were in a coma. I saw the bruises I knew that there was a pretty good chance he wasn't driving. If he stepped out of that hospital a free man there was every chance in the world that Maddie would have talked to him and he would have told the truth. There was an even better chance that he would have taken me to court to get custody of his daughter. Probably because that's exactly what he ended up doing. I panicked and I made a bad call. You have to look at what came after that though." Teddy laced his fingers together.

"I know what came after that." Rayna sighed.

"No, you don't, you really don't. You weren't around for the part that came next. You were too busy wrapped up in your drama with Luke. Deacon and I learned to coexist. When I had my troubles I asked him to step up and be the father that Daphne needed at the time. We buried the hatchet long ago. I was stupid and childish. I screwed up. I lost Maddie anyway only it was my own fault." Teddy pointed out to her.

"Teddy, you should come. She loves you even if it isn't in the same way anymore. You were an important part of her life for a long time. She's mad at you 'cause of the way you treated her sister. I taught 'em that we protect and stick up for each other. No one messes with us, but us. I can't promise you what role you'll play in her life goin' forward. I just know that I won't be the reason you're not there. This is up to Maddie to decide. I won't make the choice for her." Deacon stood in the doorway.

"That's mighty big of you, Deacon." Teddy smiled a little.

"I'm not doin' this for you. This is for my girls. We agreed a long time ago that we would do what's best for them. This is the best for them. I got all those good parts and the crazy teenage drama and I wouldn't trade it for anythin' in the world. I'm their daddy you took yourself out of the equation now you've gotta do what you can to make it right." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"If he's on board with this then I'm not gonna stop ya. I'll see ya Saturday." Rayna sighed.

"I guess I'll be going then." Teddy nodded in Deacon's direction before he left.

"I'm very proud of you, babe." Rayna looked at him with nothing, but love in her eyes.

"I'm pretty proud of myself too." Deacon gave her a small smile.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	46. Chapter 46

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 46

"Knock, knock," JC knocked on the doorjamb of a room and stuck his head inside.

"Jimbo, what are you doing here?" Amy stood up with a big smile on her face. She was a tall slim woman of Native American ancestry. She was JC's biological mother.

"Am I interruptin' anythin'?" JC took a look around.

"No, not at all. I'm just trying to write a song to make sure I get paid." Amy replied.

"Good. I actually came by to give you somethin' in person." JC reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a wedding invitation.

"Oh, this is the wedding invitation. Let me see that." Amy took it from him. She opened it up and read it. "Mr. and Mrs. Deacon John Claybourne request the honor of your presence at the wedding of their daughter Miss Madison Miranda Claybourne to Mr. James Clay Grayson so of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Vincent Grayson on the sixth day of June."

"Yeah, that's what it says." JC shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't sound too excited about that." Amy observed.

"I'm in it for the marriage not the weddin' day. This is Maddie's day. A day I knew was comin' a decade ago. As long as she's the one standin' across from me at that altar nothin' else matters." JC got a big grin on his face.

"There's that shit eating grin I was looking for. That's the same look that Vince had on his face when I said yes to his proposal." Amy's smile held a little sadness around the edges.

"Apparently, it is my curse in life to look like him. Savin' Amy is still one of my most requested songs." JC was always a little off kilter when it came to her.

"You're a better man than he was though. That is a damn good song. It's even more impressive when you take into account how young you were when you wrote it. The depth and the emotions that you showed in that song there are songwriters way older that can't capture that." Amy praised him.

"I just wrote what I knew. That's what I knew at the time." JC replied.

"You're way too damn modest. You certainly didn't get that from Vince." Amy chuckled.

"Hailey beat a little modesty into me over the years. She said that it would make me a better person." JC laughed a little.

"She did good with you. Your momma and daddy did good too. They did great with Vince he was just a broken man." Amy told him.

JC cleared his throat. "How are the kids and Phil?"

"They are twenty-one and nineteen now. To hear them tell it they don't need me at all. Phil is a pain in my ass, but I couldn't live without him. You will soon come to find out exactly what that means. What about you and Maddie? Any big plans other than the wedding?" Amy asked him.

"We just bought a house that is really close to her parents. It's really nice and we can have our privacy." JC answered.

"That's really great. Any plans for babies?" Amy had to ask that question.

"We don't have any plans for babies, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened sooner rather than later. We've been together and lived together for a long time. We don't really have a reason to wait. We've gotten all the craziness outta our systems. I mean I'm gonna be twenty-nine and she'll be twenty-six. I don't wanna be in my forties and still changin' diapers." JC had given it more thought that he was willing to admit.

"It sounds like you're ready. I will tell you this there is no perfect time to do anything. If you wait for the perfect time you will be waiting your whole life." Amy advised him.

"In terms of our careers now would be a really perfect time. We're both workin' on albums and she just came in off tour." JC replied.

"You look really happy. This is all I ever wanted for you. This is why I gave you up even though it killed me." Amy put her hand on his knee.

"I know that. I made my peace with you a long time ago in case I never told ya I'm tellin' ya now. Neither of us would have had good lives had you kept me." JC rubbed his hands together. "You're comin' on Saturday right?"

"I will be there. I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world." Amy smiled at him.

* * *

"Good catch, Deac!" Deacon cheered for his son from the stands. One of his true pleasures in life was watching his kids play ball.

"Way to go, Buddy!" Rayna whooped.

"Time to switch?" Deacon asked her.

"Yeah, time to switch." Rayna turned around on the bleachers and looked at another field.

"We picked a good time to turn around. Charlie is up to bat." Deacon watched his daughter. "Come on, Pistol, you got this!" He clapped his hands.

"I hate it when they all have games at the same time." Rayna pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head.

"It's hard to watch 'em all at the same time, but it means that we don't have to sit here for hours." Deacon replied.

"That I am thankful for. These damn bleachers make my ass go numb after a while. There's Paul standing right up next to the fence like always." Rayna pointed out her father-in-law.

"You'd think that man would wear his damn glasses so he can see. He doesn't favor his granddaughters at all, does he?" Deacon laughed.

"Not even a little bit." Rayna leaned against his side. "Switch?"

"You go on. I need to finish watchin' her bat. Henry needs to see you watchin' him." Deacon pointed out to her.

Rayna leaned her back against his. "I think he's the most fun to watch. He wants to be so serious like his big brothers, but he's so all over the place."

"He's still young give him a few years he'll learn. Especially if his Uncle Rhett has anythin' to say 'bout it." Deacon retorted.

"Rhett is about baseball like you are about guitar. These kids don't have a prayer for a hope with ya'll around." Rayna nudged him playfully.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya talkin', woman." Deacon rubbed his back against hers.

"Stop it before you make me fall." Rayna pushed back against him.

"You need to stop pushin' against me like that. I ain't a well man. I still have a sore chest." Deacon tried playing the sympathy card.

"I didn't hear you complainin' of a sore chest last night." Rayna teased him.

"I think you may secretly be a witch the minute you touch me I forget 'bout all my aches and pains." Deacon mumbled lowly.

"I think you need to watch your mouth in public." Rayna scolded him lightly.

"It's never bothered you before." Deacon laughed.

"We weren't at our children's ball games before." Rayna pointed out to him. "Come on, Jack!" She cheered for her son.

Deacon turned around to watch Jack. "Let's go, Henry!"

"Babe, do you mind? You just screamed in my ear." Rayna glared at him.

"I don't mind at all." Deacon pulled her to him and started tickling her.

"Deacon, stop it." Rayna giggled.

"I don't think you've given me enough incentive to stop." Deacon kept tickling her.

Rayna managed to take his face between her hands and kiss him.

"Cheater," Deacon grinned against her lips.

"Seriously, you two can't be let out of the house without bein' all over each other." Scarlett walked over with a smirk on her face.

Deacon and Rayna didn't look the least bit contrite.

"Your uncle started it. I did not instigate what you just saw." Rayna claimed total innocence.

"The hell she didn't. She kissed me." Deacon scoffed.

"I don't really wanna know so I won't ask. I would believe that either of ya are at fault honestly. And boy did I hear an earful from Maddie last night 'bout her momma. The point is I know neither of you are innocent." Scarlett laughed at them.

"I know I traumatized her. I think she will be ok though. If not she will at least get over it." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know when ya'll are ever gonna learn that this is just the way we are." Deacon raised his eyebrow.

"We've all learned that the hard way. We won't even bother tryin' to change ya." Scarlett shook her head.

"How are my niece and nephew lookin' on the field?" Deacon asked.

"They are both as awkward and uncoordinated as their daddy. They try so hard though." Scarlett chuckled.

"I don't understand how someone can play guitar the way that he does and be that uncoordinated with everything else." Rayna observed.

"I don't know I don't question it. I just love all my awkward little klutzes." Scarlett retorted.

"Speak of the devil here comes one of them now." Deacon jerked his head in Gunnar's direction.

"Babe, I just got off the phone with Avery. I hope you don't mind, but I'm gonna have to leave you alone for a couple of hours after dinner to go work on something with him." Gunnar tucked his phone into his shirt pocket.

"That's fine with me. That works out perfect. You and Avery can do whatever it is you have to do and I can have some time alone to write once I get the kids in bed." Scarlett replied.

"I was thinking that tomorrow we could go over to Deacon's place tomorrow and get some writing time in." Gunnar suggested.

"No can do and neither can you." Scarlett reminded him.

"Huh?" Gunnar looked confused.

"Maddie is going dress shopping tomorrow and Jimmy is supposed to be picking out his tux." Rayna filled him in.

"Oh, that's right. I remember now." Gunnar nodded his head.

"Tomorrow is a day that I'm not really lookin' forward to." Deacon squeezed his eyes shut and groaned.

"Suck it up, babe. We've all gotta deal with it." Rayna patted his back.

* * *

"Babe, can you get that? I just got this string threaded through on my guitar and if I stop right now it's gonna be a bitch to do it again." JC was on the couch with his guitar laying across his lap.

"Sure, I've got it, but you're paying for dinner tonight." Maddie walked to the door from the kitchen.

"Darlin', you're waitin' for your royalties check this month unless you wanna dip into your savings you're broke for now." JC teased her.

"Oh please, my daddy put money in my account when he found out I already spent my other check." Maddie rolled her eyes and opened the door.

"Hey, pretty lady." Bobby took his Stetson off and bowed to her.

"Maddie," Jeremy touched the brim of his hat.

"Hey, guys." Maddie smiled brightly. "Jimmy, it's for you."

"Maddie, if I just heard who I think I did you need to go lock up your jewelry. Lock up the booze too." JC deadpanned.

"I heard that you asshole." Jeremy stuck his head in the door.

"I heard that too." Bobby added.

"You two come on in and argue with him like normal people." Maddie opened the door wider to let them in.

"Don't shut that door yet. They aren't the only two that came to see him." Hailey came in followed by a woman who was younger than her.

"Allie, it's good to see you." Maddie smiled at JC's other sister.

"It's good to see you too, sweetheart." Allie kissed her cheek.

"Shit, I need to put my guitar down and go get my shotgun." JC quipped.

"Jimmy, don't be a little asshole. We came over here to see you." Hailey scolded him.

"Hailey, I ain't a fuckin' child don't talk to me like I am." JC grumbled.

"You will always be the runt to us. You better get used to it." Bobby told him.

"What are ya'll doin' here?" JC kept working on his guitar.

"Jimmy, I rarely get to see ya. We thought that we could all do somethin' tonight since tomorrow and Saturday are gonna be crazy." Allie answered him.

"I'm doin' somethin' right now if ya'll haven't noticed. This is delicate work and Deacon has cut me off from guitar repair. He's too busy to do it right now or somethin'. Let me finish up with this string and we will go do whatever ya'll want. I'll show ya my part of this city. You've seen Hailey's version I'm sure. Mine is way more fun." JC replied.

"Maddie, call your sister and your crazy ass friend. These gentlemen and Allie need to have the full experience." Hailey went to their liquor stash and made herself at home.

"Casey is playing a gig tonight. She'll be up for whatever once she's done. Daph might be in the studio or she might be with Joel. I'll call her and see. You guys help yourselves to whatever you want from the kitchen there's not much there, but we have a lot of booze. I'm gonna go grab my phone and I'll be right back." Maddie excused herself.

"Jeremy, this is said for your benefit since Bobby seems to have some morals though not many. Daphne is off limits. You look at her cross eyed and I promise you I will lay you out. She's young enough to be your illegitimate daughter. Casey is a wild card she doesn't have any inhibitions do what you will there. You leave Daphne alone though. I'm so serious about that." JC finished stringing his guitar and laid it aside.

"Dude, relax I don't go for preschoolers they tire me out and make it way too hard for me to stay on the right path." Jeremy held his hands up in a sign for JC to calm down.

"Just be sure you keep it that way. We all know how crazy protective I am. Don't make me go back to that place." JC gave him one last word of warning.

"Jimmy, chill out a little bit. You're more uptight than I am and I run a damn cattle ranch under our daddy's very watchful eye. I have ulcers that are named after him, but still I can let go. You're wound up, boy." Bobby called him down.

"That's just how he gets when it comes to Daph. You should have heard how he threatened her first boyfriend. She's in by the way." Maddie came back into the room.

"Jeremy has been warned 'bout her." JC told her.

"She's so into Joel that she wouldn't even notice if Jeremy made a pass at her. Hell, it took her months to figure out that Joel was flirting with her." Maddie rolled her eyes at him.

"If it makes you feel any better I told him that Casey was fair game." JC offered.

"He can't even handle Casey. No man can. Also, I think I need to hunt my father down. He left the house two hours ago to go to a meeting and mom hasn't heard from him since." Maddie replied.

"Don't worry 'bout him. He's with Max. He has to be with Max. If he's not with Max then they are both havin' affairs. Since we know that Deacon would never ever cheat on Rayna it's a safe bet that they are together. I don't know exactly what they are up to, but I'm positive that it's harmless. If Vince were still alive and Deacon were still drinkin' then I'd be worried." Hailey informed her.

"You know what? I don't wanna know. My parents are twisted as hell when it comes to each other. I'm gonna stay outta it. I'm sure that dad will drag me down the rabbit hole at some point. Jimmy, babe, I'm ready to head out if you are." Maddie groaned.

"I'm ready. Like I said lock up your jewelry." JC retorted.

"James," Hailey gave him a sharp look.

"The only thing I ever actually stole was one of daddy's trucks. Jewelry is a waste of time and a pain in the ass to try to hawk." Jeremy defended himself.

"Jeremy, as wrong as Jimmy is for sayin' it don't lie out your ass." Allie called him out.

"Hailey and Jimmy are the golden children and Jimmy obviously has a gold-plated dick to land someone as hot as Maddie. Let's not get into how the rest of us are screw-ups. It gives me a complex and it makes me drink more than Pop at an open bar." Bobby stepped in and broke them up.

"Robert, I'm the oldest don't tell me what to do." Hailey turned around and glared at him.

"Oh shit, that's why you and Maddie get along so well. You're both the oldest and you're both bossy." JC rubbed his face.

"If that's the case you and Jackie get along so well cause you're both the youngest." Hailey countered.

"I don't even have to say anything to you after that take down." Maddie laughed.

"Let's just get outta here while my dignity is still intact. No man should be subjected to the ridicule of his big sister in his own home." JC made a face.

"Honey, this technically isn't even your house. Your house is the bunk house until we move into our house." Maddie pointed out to him.

"How did ya'll escape momma and daddy tonight?" JC asked.

"You're gonna just pretend like she didn't feed you your lunch?" Jeremy laughed.

"If I ignore her she doesn't get her happy feelin'." JC replied.

"We distracted them with grandchildren. They like them better than us." Bobby informed him.

"That means they won't be up in my grill today. I'm ok with that." JC nodded thoughtfully.

"Come on let's get outta here." Maddie wrapped her arm around his waist.

"You think I'm speakin' to you?" JC teased her.

"You're always speaking to me." Maddie kissed his cheek.

"Of course I am." JC kissed the top of her head.

"Lesson number one in marriage. Happy wife happy life." Bobby advised him.

"Listen to him I've gotten him out of enough marriages that he should know a thing or two." Hailey chimed in.

"You can calculate Bobby's age by the number of alimony payments he's payin'." Allie added her two cents.

"Allie, you of the bad choices with men get to talk 'bout no one. I can't even begin to count the number of situations that I've gotten you out of over the years. A few notable instances include the drug dealer you dated, the ex con you married, and the abusive boyfriend that almost killed you and Jimmy." Hailey listed off.

"Damn, I'm glad that she doesn't have any dirt on me." Jeremy said.

"You keep your damn mouth shut on the advice of counsel. Cow tippin', drunk and disorderly, possession with the intent to distribute, and countless DUIs. You owe the fact that you still have a license to me." Hailey looked at him her mouth gaping open.

"Bobby was right, Hailey, we are the good ones." JC took a deep breath.

"Actually, you're the good one, Jimmy. Hailey has a few skeletons in her closet too." Allie informed him.

"That you would know nothin' 'bout. You are quite a bit younger than me. My shit was at least typical teenage stuff. The rest of ya'll are little criminals. Except Jimmy of course. What should really scare all of you is that I've had the only successful marriage out of six of us so far. You should be ashamed I don't even like my husband the vast majority of the time. He runs off and I don't know where he is and it doesn't bother me in the least bit. I know he'll come back he always does I ain't gonna get that lucky. The first time I met him I poured a beer on his head. He grew on me and I married one of Deacon's refugees. The man has an attraction to strays." Hailey went off on a bit of a tangent.

"Babe, you wanna start 'em off at the Exit Ramp?" JC asked.

"Yeah, that's where we will start them off. You wanna walk or take a cab?" Maddie replied.

"Jeremy said he's on the wagon we could let him drive." JC suggested.

"Jimmy, I'm not an alcoholic. I'm a drug addict. I drink all the damn time." Jeremy corrected him.

"I'll call a cab." Maddie chuckled.

"I'll call Max and tell him to expect a really drunk wife tonight. If she's that loose he may get lucky. I like to throw him a bone every now and then. So I'm gonna get Casey to slut her up a little bit." JC bit his lip to hide a smirk.

"Jimmy, sweetie, those are the skeletons in my closet that Allie was talkin' 'bout. Let's just say that I don't need any help in the slut department." Hailey winked at him.

"Hailey, shut the hell up. That's so fuckin' gross. You're like my momma I don't wanna know these things." JC made a gagging noise.

"Don't say that to her. It gives me weird vibes. You realize how much older I am than my younger siblings right?" Maddie smacked him on the back of his head.

"No man handlin' me, babe." JC rubbed the back of his head.

"Let's just go out." Maddie shook her head at him.

* * *

Deacon crept up behind Rayna while she was at the sink doing dishes. "Hey, sexy, need a little help with that?" He dropped a kiss on the back of her neck and pressed his hips up against her ass.

Rayna rubbed up against him and tilted her head back to give him better access to her neck. "Your way of helpin' is more of a distraction, but I don't mind it at all."

"This ain't gonna go anywhere. Those four monsters are still awake. As much as I would love to I can't take you on that counter right now." Deacon growled in her ear.

"As great as that sounds I don't wanna risk scarrin' our babies for life if they walk in on us. Maddie deserves it they don't." Rayna giggled when his beard tickled her neck.

"Babe, no one deserves that." Deacon buried his face in her neck.

"I don't mean in the act I just meant when you lift me up on the counter and start kissin' me knowin' where it's gonna lead." Rayna corrected him.

Deacon spun her around in his arms and lifted her up on the counter. "It's been too damn long since I've been able to do that."

"It's been too damn long since you've done that to me." Rayna rested her forehead against his.

Deacon tilted her chin up and kissed her deeply. "Mmm, your kisses taste better when I have you places that we ain't supposed to be."

"Like the dressing room at the Bridgestone or the dressing room at Sound Check. Then there were all the times at the Opry. Not to forget all the numerous stadiums all over the country." Rayna listed off.

"The countless times on the tour bus even though we knew how damn thin those walls were." Deacon added.

"We can't forget that every damn time we get in that canoe up at the cabin sex happens. And the couch and floor in front of the fireplace. We have sex a lot of places that we aren't supposed to." Rayna ran her hands through his hair.

"We have that effect on each other. There is really somethin' very wrong with us." Deacon chuckled.

"If there's somethin' wrong with us then I don't want the cure." Rayna rubbed her nose against his.

"I couldn't agree with you more, babe." Deacon stole another kiss from her.

"Momma, you ain't supposed to be up on the counter." Jack padded into the room in his pajamas.

"I swear I left him in his bedroom content with the iPad. This kid has the worst timin' from his conception to his birth he's always been one big surprise." Deacon laughed and squeezed his eyes shut.

"We learned a lesson about cold medicine, drinkin', and birth control with that one." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck. "Momma pays for the counter if momma wants to sit on the counter she can."

"We eat there you animals." Jack smacked himself in the center of the forehead.

"Jackson Henry, watch your mouth." Deacon told him as sternly as he could. Admittedly that wasn't very stern.

Rayna buried her face in Deacon's shoulder to keep Jack from seeing her laugh. She took a moment to compose herself. "I'm gonna clean the counter, bub."

"Adults, are such hard work. I'm just goin' back to my room." Jack shook his head and walked out.

Once they were sure he was out of earshot they both broke down laughing.

"He is the best surprise ever." Deacon's eyes were filled with tears from laughing so hard.

"Thank you for my amazingly beautiful son. Our lives would be so dull without him." Rayna ran her hands over the stubble on his cheeks.

"Thank you for my baby boy he is so wonderfully silly." Deacon picked her up and spun her around while he kissed her.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 47

"Hailey, you ok? You're looking a little green around the gills this morning." Rayna checked up on her friend.

Hailey pulled her hair back into a ponytail and fanned herself. "My brothers are all evil. I made a mistake and I forgot that the youngest one is in his twenties. I went out drinkin' with 'em last night and I'm payin' for it right now. Though I can only halfway blame them Casey was into it too."

"Hailey, shh, I don't need a lecture from Momma Rayna right now." Casey sat in a chair with a pair of sunglasses on and her head thrown back.

"Casey, I've given up on lecturing you. I don't have it in me today." Rayna shook her head.

"Casey, you shh. You are totally to blame for the many rounds of tequila shots last night." Maddie groaned.

"Maddie, what on earth? Never mind I don't want an answer to that question." Rayna stopped herself before she could go down a worm hole there was no coming back from.

"What your momma meant to ask was why would you get so drunk the night before you knew you were going dress shopping?" Juliette asked what Rayna wanted to know.

"Bobby and Jeremy can really drink. Also, it's kinda my mother's fault. We drink for free at the Exit Ramp." Maddie retorted.

"You are Deacon when you're hungover." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I'm not hungover I'm more tired than anything." Maddie corrected her.

"Maddie, you're hungover. Just admit it. I'm hungover." Daphne grabbed her head.

"You girls are a sight." June shook her head at them.

"Hailey, did you let your brothers uphold the find upstandin' Grayson tradition last night?" Dixie asked her daughter.

"It wasn't just my brothers. My sister was into it too. I'm pretty sure that we did daddy proud last night." Hailey retorted snappishly.

"This is why I don't hang out with them." Scarlett shook her head.

"Scarlett, you don't hang out with us because you don't know what you'll come home to if you leave Gunnar alone with the kids for too long." Maddie pointed out to her.

"I know exactly what I'll come home to if I leave them alone for any period of time. That's why I don't do it." Scarlett granted her point.

"Liz, you about ready? I can't promise how long they are gonna behave." Rayna called out to her stylist.

"I'm ready. I was just locking up all the valuables. With this group of crazies I'm never sure that what'll happen." Liz walked over to them.

"Join the club. I just hold my breath until they do whatever they are gonna do." Rayna waved her hand around as if to say it didn't matter.

"Let's get started so I can get ya'll outta my shop in a timely manner." Liz clapped her hands together.

"I'm all for getting this over with as quickly as possible." Maddie raised her hand.

"If I didn't know you as well as I do I'd believe that. I have very little faith in you that's why I closed down the shop for the day." Liz patted her shoulder.

"Liz, I don't even wanna know what this is costing me." Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You know me better than that. This is all on Freakin' Deacon's tab. So, please do as much damage as you want." Liz retorted.

"What did he do this time?" Rayna asked.

"Where'd you get that outfit you had on the other day? That's what he did this time. I know all about his connections in this town." Liz answered her.

"How'd you find out about that?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"I think that sometimes you forget what a huge deal you are in this town. You just can't go busking and no one take notice of that. I also learned a long time ago not to question your thought process." Liz gave her a look.

"Ok, you caught me. I needed to try something new." Rayna laughed.

"You picked a good designer to do that with. Presley Turner is one of the best in the city. Had you asked me I would have told you that." Liz gave her a hard time.

"Liz, I wasn't exactly myself. I wasn't thinking clearly. Get off my back, woman." Rayna pushed her playfully.

"You were overdue for a midlife crisis I'll allow it." Liz laughed.

"I don't know how I've put up with you for so long." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"Maddie, let's get this show on the road. Your mother and I can do this all day. I have a whole selection of dresses for you. If you can't find something you like then there is something wrong with you." Liz spurred her on.

"I'm not as picky as my mother is. I think that I'll be able to find something." Maddie stood up.

"I also have bridesmaids' dresses for you to look at. Hopefully you can kill two birds with one stone today." Liz replied.

"I'm totally down for that. The more I can get finished today the better. This wedding is a damn nightmare." Maddie groaned.

"If I have anything to say about it I'll get you well on your way today." Liz assured her.

"Maddie, do what you have to do. I'll be right here in this chair ready to give you my opinion." Rayna took a seat.

"Thanks for the support, mom." Maddie laughed.

"You're welcome, Maddie." Rayna gave her a thumbs' up.

* * *

"I don't see why this has to be such a big damn deal. We could have done this a week before the weddin' just as easily." JC grumbled.

"Dude, you have a lot to learn." Bobby laughed at him.

"A whole lot." Mack chimed in.

"Mack, no one speaks Maddie as well as you do. You're better off just givin' up on gettin' anyone else to understand." Will advised him.

"Jimmy, I don't even have words for you right now." Avery shook his head.

"The only way you don't get in trouble is to do what she asks you to do the best way that you can." Gunnar gave him some words of wisdom.

"I have three. Don't get married. But, that's just if you ask me." Jeremy added.

"Jimmy, here is my word of advice to you. When she asks you to do somethin' you just say yes dear." Big Jack told him.

"Don't ask questions, don't make faces, and don't comment. That's the only way for you to make it through marriage alive." Deacon gave his two cents on the matter.

"Hey, did we start givin' out marriage advice before I got here?" Rhett walked into the tailor.

"Rhett, there you are, brother. I was startin' to worry 'bout you." Deacon hugged his brother.

"My plane didn't take off until late. I got here as fast as I could." Rhett hugged him back.

"You didn't miss anythin' other than these guys tryin to scare me outta gettin' married." JC offered.

"I can't imagine Deacon tryin' to talk ya outta marriage. Marryin' his daughter possibly, but not outta marriage in general. I ain't never seen a man that loves bein' married as much as he does." Rhett retorted.

"He's the only one that ain't tried to scare me outta it." JC informed him.

"She's always right and you're always wrong. That's the best advice that I can give ya. Also find your happy place and don't tell her 'bout it. If she don't know 'bout it she can't ruin it for ya." Rhett advised him.

"So, I should outright lie to my wife?" JC asked for clarification.

"Yes," The other men answered him in unison.

"You two lie to each other?" JC pointed in between Will and Mack.

"Your sister has told to refrain from answerin' questions like that on the grounds that it might incriminate me." Will clammed up.

"In other words yes we lie to each other, but not over anything serious. Sometimes you just need some alone time and there is no shame in that." Mack rolled his eyes at Will.

"Even though his alone time involves him doin' crazy shit with Maddie and Casey." Will shook his head.

"Ok, I'm gonna step in and stop this. Ya'll boys need to get these tuxes tried on." Deacon broke up their little argument.

"What colors are we working with here?" Avery asked.

"Red and silver. I didn't pick these colors. I told her I'd do this thing in the back yard in boots and jeans. I got a dirty look and then I was told what our colors were gonna be." JC answered him.

"You've learned the first thing 'bout livin' with my daughter then. Always give her, her way." Deacon chuckled.

"That's a rule that applies to all women. I've learned a thing or two in my almost twenty-nine years on this earth." JC winked.

"Do we have to get those shoes that pinch our damn toes?" Gunnar asked him.

"Hell no, we're wearing cowboy boots. That was like the one damn thing that I wanted any say in. I have a pair of those shoes that go with my dress uniform and I hate 'em. I told her that there was no way in hell that I was wearin' those damn shoes on my weddin' day." JC replied.

"What did I just tell ya'll 'bout knockin' it off and tryin' them damn tuxes on?" Deacon barked at them.

* * *

"Oh my God. I have the most handsome husband in the entire world." Rayna gushed over the text that Deacon sent her of him in his tux.

"I'll stick with the younger brother thank you very much." Sadie showed her the picture of Rhett in his tux.

"Sadie, those boys look just alike." June pointed out to her.

"This is true except my husband smiles a lot more than his big brother does. Deacon is a brooder. I had to drop by his office and talk to him about somethin' the other day and he actually grunted at me. I'm not sure that he's not a caveman." Sadie laughed a little.

"He was working on his monthly budget. He does turn into a caveman when we have him do actual work." Rayna laughed with her.

"I really don't know if this dress is gonna work for me. I keep feelin' like I'm gonna spill outta this thing." Casey walked out wearing a strapless dress with what looked like diamonds around the bust and across the waist.

"Casey, for the first time in forever you don't look like you should be hanging out in a hotel lobby bar waitin' to get paid." Rayna commented.

"Darlin', that's why wardrobe tape was invented. I can keep your girls in that dress. I'm really damn good at my job. I think that these dresses have looked better than any of the others ya'll have tried on." Liz gave her professional opinion.

"Casey, tuck your damn boobs in and suck it up. It won't be the first time that you've had a wardrobe malfunction. Those are the dresses I like." Maddie called out to her.

"You keep up with me and I'm not gonna plan your bachelorette party." Casey threatened her.

"I hope that's a promise and not a threat. I really don't want to end up in jail before my wedding. With you that's a very good possibility." Maddie grumbled.

"I'm your maid of honor, Maddie. It's my job to plan your bachelorette party. I would never let Casey plan it." Daphne reassured her.

"I'm not sure that I didn't raise a daughter that is a lot like Casey. Hell, I'm not so sure that I don't have a sister that's not a lot like her." Hailey observed.

"I say this with the utmost love and affection that I can muster, but go fuck yourself, Hailey." Allie flipped her off.

"Honey, you're a day late and a dollar short on that one. I lock myself in the bathroom with a bottle of wine and my vibrator so I don't have to have relations with my husband." Hailey smirked at her.

"Hailey and Alexandra, both of you act like you were raised." Dixie scolded them.

"Momma, stop pretendin' that you succeeded in raisin' either one of us to be ladies. I'm a lawyer and my sister hangs out in the gutter." Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Why did I allow you two to make it to adulthood? I feel like I've made a grave mistake." Dixie groaned.

"I feel the same way about mine sometimes." Rayna agreed with her.

"I get the same feelin'." Hailey admitted.

Maddie stepped out of the dressing room wearing a strapless flowing white dress that had the same diamond accents on it as the bridesmaids' dresses. "Mom, I think this is the one."

Rayna's eyes teared up and she put her hand over her mouth. "Oh, Maddie, you look gorgeous, baby girl."

"You really think so?" Maddie asked her.

"I think that dress was made for you. Your daddy is gonna lose it when he sees that dress. I'm already cryin' I know I'm gonna look a mess when you actually marry him." Rayna wiped her eyes.

"Ray, let's not drown her with tears just now. I need to go take her measurements, so I can get this dress altered correctly." Liz shooed her away.

"Forgive me this is my first born and I wasn't as ready as I thought I was for this." Rayna snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, and by the time I'm doing this for Charlie you'll be begging me to hurry up so you can get rid of her." Liz retorted.

"Don't joke like that. If Deacon ever finds out you said that he will have a heart attack. Charlie is not only his baby girl, but she's like his best friend. Those two are so damn close and so much alike that it's not funny." Rayna cautioned her.

"You get in between dad and his Pistol at your own peril. Honestly, he's crazy about all three of us, but him and Charlie have something special." Daphne chimed in.

"Madison Miranda, be still. Unless of course you want me to stick you with this pin." Liz threatened Maddie.

"Hey, did you seriously just Madison Miranda me?" Maddie's jaw dropped.

"Honey, you call me Aunt Liz. I've known you your whole life. I've been out on tour with you. It's safe to say I know your full name." Liz pointed out to her.

"Maddie, look at me." Rayna snapped her picture when she looked her way.

"Mom, don't let Jimmy see that." Maddie shrieked.

"That's not for Jimmy that's for me to show your dad. I have to see his face when he sees it." Rayna explained to her.

"Just so you can show him that and you can comfort him when he cries." June teased her.

"My mother-in-law knows way more about my private life than she should. Note to self, Deacon and I really need to tone it down some" Rayna muttered.

"I'm just honestly surprised that Jack hasn't walked in on you two yet. He has a tendency to barge in your room whenever he feels like it." Maddie looked over her shoulder at her mother.

"We lock the door. We aren't complete savages." Rayna laughed at the face she made.

* * *

"Have I told you lately how thankful I am that they are gonna have this weddin' at the house." Deacon pulled at his tie uncomfortably.

"Babe, you don't hate this club any more than I do." Rayna adjusted her earring.

"I'm just sayin' it's been almost forty years and I still feel as uneasy in this place as I did the first time I stepped in here." Deacon replied.

"Darlin', I feel outta place here too. I think my daddy and Miss Maddie are the only ones who aren't. Poor Charlie looks just as miserable as I know you are." Rayna kissed his cheek.

"That one is gonna revolt on us if we keep pushin' it too hard." Deacon grinned a little.

"Alright, honey, you're father of the bride. Take command of this show." Rayna encouraged him.

Deacon picked up a water glass and tapped a knife against it. "Ya'll, if I can get your attention for just a minute I promise that I want yammer on for too long. I just wanted to say a few words."

"Jimmy, I apologize for whatever is about to come out of his mouth." Maddie whispered to JC.

"He'll be fine." JC took her hand and squeezed it.

"My wife and I would like to thank ya'll for comin' out today to celebrate our daughter's engagement. For those of you who don't know Jimmy is my best friend's son and I think of him as my own. His father and I were so close that he got part of my last name as his middle name and he got my wife's last name as his first name. The minute that I saw those two together I knew that there was somethin' between 'em that even they couldn't see at the time. It came as absolutely no surprise to me when they started datin'. Fast forward ten years and that fine young man is comin' to me like the gentleman that he is and askin' for Maddie's hand in marriage. I didn't hesitate to say yes. I know that there is no man on the face of this earth that is gonna love my little girl like he does. He makes her incredibly happy and he is so good to her. He's an amazin' big brother to all my other children. Here's to Maddie and Jimmy. May you two have a long happy life together. And may you know the kind of happiness that I have." Deacon raised his glass.

"That was pretty damn perfect, babe." Rayna looped her arm through his.

"I just spoke from my heart, baby." Deacon cleared his throat to cover up his emotions.

Big Jack stood up and took his cowboy hat off. "Well, hell, I guess if Freakin' Deacon got up here and said somethin' I should say somethin' too."

"I apologize now. He ain't drunk, but he ain't sober either." JC whispered to Maddie.

"I'm sure your mom will reel him in if he gets outta hand." Maddie whispered back.

"Jimmy is the baby of the family as such we always tried our best to shelter, protect, and spoil him. My son, however, had other plans. He's always been so headstrong and determined to make it on his own without any help from the family. He joined the Army the minute he graduated high school and then he ran off to Nashville. Even when times were lean for him he refused to take a damn penny from me. To my relief he fell in with my oldest son's dearest friends and I knew then I didn't have to worry 'bout him cause I knew they'd take good care of him. Then all of a sudden when he'd call home all he could talk 'bout was their oldest daughter. I could tell just from the tone of his voice that she was different, that this was the girl I knew would come into his life one day and change his world for the better. The first time I met her she was this little teenage girl with a remarkable voice. Now, she's an incredibly gorgeous and talented young woman who I'm proud to call my future daughter-in-law. No one could love my boy as well as she does. I'm so grateful that he has her in his life. I know that she will make him a good wife. To Jimmy and Maddie, here's to a life well lived." Big Jack toasted them.

"I had no idea he liked me that much." Maddie whispered.

"Maddie, he adores you. And it's not just because you're Lamar Wyatt's granddaughter and he sees this as some kinda business merger." JC nuzzled her neck with his lips.

"Don't give pawpaw any ideas. I'm sure that thought has occurred to him." Maddie giggled.

"As long as everyone is still paying attention I'd like to say a couple of things as well." Teddy spoke up.

"Babe, you better be ready to restrain my dad." Maddie groaned.

"I think he can behave." JC reassured her.

"A daughter's wedding is something that every man dreads from the moment he finds out that he's having a girl. The time gets away from you quicker than you'd think. It seems just like yesterday that the doctor put Maddie in my arms. I remember how that tiny baby girl looked up at me I was head over heels in love with her and now she's old enough to be getting married. If I have to give her away I'm glad it's to a man who loves and appreciates her the way that JC does. Maddie, JC, I wish you both only the best." Teddy spoke his piece.

"Thanks, Teddy, that was nice." Maddie told him when he walked over.

"You're welcome," Teddy smiled at her. It still felt like a knife to the chest every time she called him by his name.

"I really appreciate what you said." JC offered him his hand.

"No problem at all." Teddy shook his hand. "Just to clarify is your name JC or Jimmy?"

"My stage name is JC 'cause there's so many damn Jimmy's in country music already. Everyone I'm close to calls me Jimmy everyone else calls me JC." JC answered him.

"I'll will keep that in mind." Teddy replied.

"We better go make the rounds." Maddie excused herself.

"Of course, we can talk later." Teddy kissed her cheek.

"Daddy, you make the best speeches. I don't know where you come up with this stuff, but you never cease to amaze me." Maddie gave Deacon a big hug.

"I'm an artist, baby girl. I just tap into my feelings and let the words flow. You're lucky that a damn or a fuck didn't slip out." Deacon hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much, don't ever change." Maddie laughed.

"Jimmy, come here, son." Deacon pulled him into the hug as well.

"Thanks, Deacon." JC hugged him.

"Now, ya'll get on outta here and go make your manners." Deacon shooed them away.

"Now just wait a damn minute. Ya'll come give me some love." Rayna opened her arms to them.

"I love you so much, mom." Maddie hugged her.

"I love you too, baby." Rayna kissed her forehead.

"You know that you're the best mother-in-law don't you?" JC hugged her too.

"I know that I am. I'm just kidding. I love you, buddy." Rayna kissed his forehead too.

"I love you too. Even when you're bein' my bitch of a boss." JC laughed.

"Your new album is shapin' up to be great. If I wasn't a bitch you wouldn't have that would ya?" Rayna winked at him.

"Maddie, so we're clear this is what you're gonna be like when you're older I'm gettin' a huntin' cabin to hide out in." JC teased.

"Honey, I actually give you permission to get a hunting cabin and hide out from me. I commend my father for being able to put up with her without running away." Maddie pecked his lips.

"I don't wanna be away from you for long though, Cricket." JC rubbed his nose against hers.

"I don't wanna be away from you for long either, baby." Maddie rested her forehead against his.

"I need you two to get away from me. You're so damn cute that you're makin' me sick. If I have to behave myself like a well-bred southern lady then I can't watch ya'll do cute shit like that." Rayna hissed lowly.

"You really do have a wild streak don't you, mom?" Maddie joked.

"Yes, I do and you will do well to remember that's where you got it from." Rayna poked her in the side playfully.

"Come on, babe, let's go make our rounds." Maddie grabbed onto JC's hand.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We are just a few chapters away from the big wedding and there is some exciting stuff in store. Until next time please review.


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 48

"Ray, from the sounds of it you forgot to lock the door again and all the strays are comin' in." Deacon looked up from the book he was reading.

"Babe, even if I locked the door the strays would still be able to get in. They all have keys." Rayna moved her head from his shoulder.

"Of course they do." Deacon chuckled softly and took his glasses off.

"If you have mud on your shoes take 'em off. I just mopped these damn floors." Rayna called out.

"Mom, you should know me better than that. I don't do mud unless it's at the spa." Maddie came into the room carrying a binder with JC following behind her.

"Have a couple of kids and you will change your mind about that. Especially if you have boys. Your brothers as you know are all muddy, dirty messes all of the time. It's something that boys never grow out of." Rayna retorted.

"What are ya'll doin' here? You didn't get enough of us earlier today?" Deacon turned around to look at them.

"We wanted to come by and thank you both for today." JC answered him.

"Ya'll don't have to thank us. We were happy to do it for ya. It is nice to know that we're appreciated though." Rayna smiled at him.

Maddie hugged Deacon around his neck and kissed the top of his head. "Thank you for being the best daddy in the world. I know that you bit your tongue with Teddy today and I know how hard that is for you. I wish he would have phrased things a little differently. I know that you and I said that we would do that part that we didn't have together with the boys, but I also know that it bothers you a lot more than you wanna admit. Thank you for being so strong."

"You're welcome. When are you gonna figure out there ain't nothin' I wouldn't do for you?" Deacon took her hand and kissed it.

"We also came cause we got our engagement pictures back. We wanted you guys to help us pick which ones to use for the save the date cards." JC took a seat.

"Alright, let me see these pictures." Rayna held her hand out.

"There you are." Maddie handed her the binder.

Rayna opened up the binder and started flipping through it. "The ones of ya'll in Texas turned out really great. Jimmy, you look really handsome in your uniform. I'm in love with the ones that you had taken at our old house on the front staircase with him in his dress uniform. You have to use one of those."

"I like the one of the two of them with their guitars." Deacon gave his opinion.

"You would like that one." Rayna laughed.

"I do cause it's them. That is how they've been ever since they met. Hunched over with their heads together tryin' to write a song. I'll never forget what I said to them the day I walked in and heard 'em doin' our song together cause they were strugglin' with what to write. I told 'em that country songs were nothin' more than three chords and the truth they just had to build from there. It seems impossible that those two babies are gettin' married now." Deacon grinned.

"I remember that day. I was over at the Opry preparing for my tenth anniversary show. I was absolutely blown away by what they were able to do with that song." Rayna recalled.

"Baby, did you by chance even read the music on the back on their invitations?" Deacon asked her.

"Ya'll let me see one of those invitations." Rayna held her hand out.

"Here," Maddie handed her a copy.

Rayna ran through the scale in her head and started to hum the tune. "You used that song. Babe, that's so sweet."

"It was an idea that I had. Our daughter just so happened to love the idea." Deacon replied.

"You are absolutely the best father that they could have." Rayna leaned over and pecked his lips.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I hope one day we embarrass our future children as much as they embarrass me." Maddie took JC's hand and laced their fingers together.

"I think we can make that happen. I will never not be attracted to you." JC kissed her to prove his point.

"Ya'll watch it with that kid talk. I gotta get through this weddin' first." Deacon warned them.

"Speaking of kids. It's way too quiet in here. Where are my brothers and sister?" Maddie asked.

"Your daddy gave them a project. They are in the studio producing their own album. I personally don't think someone realizes that trusting sticky little people around expensive equipment is a bad idea. They are quiet though, so I won't complain if I have to replace somethin'." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

JC looked down the hall. "They even have the recordin' light on. At least they are doin' it right."

"The things that studio has seen." Maddie chuckled.

"Your eighteenth birthday." JC grinned.

"We were actually too drunk to make it to the studio on my eighteenth birthday so we just recorded here." Maddie clarified.

"You're lucky you cleared that one up. That is your daddy's space he may have hurt you if you did anything to desecrate it." Rayna sounded amused.

"Dad doesn't really get mad at us even when he should." Maddie pointed out to her.

"That light is on cause they have company. They are havin' a play date with their Pa. I proudly have the most musically forward children in the world." Deacon reported.

"Pa's here. That's a big deal for you." Maddie observed.

"They love him. And he's good with 'em. If I thought they were in danger with him this wouldn't be happenin'." Deacon assured her.

"I wonder how mawmaw feels 'bout that." JC arched his eyebrow.

"Forget mawmaw. I wonder how pawpaw feels." Maddie smirked.

"What are you two gettin' at?" Rayna asked them.

"You can't tell us that you've never wondered what might be goin' on between your daddy and his momma. Those two are together entirely too much." JC gave her a look that said she couldn't be that naïve.

"When it comes to that issue we are Switzerland. We employ a don't ask don't tell policy. If we don't know 'bout it then we don't have to think 'bout it. The truth is we just don't wanna know at all." Deacon groaned at the thought.

"Yeah, we don't really try to decipher that mess. If we do that mess becomes our problem. I can't exactly say that it would be outta character for June. She married Paul and my daddy is a sociopath that seems to be in her wheelhouse." Rayna shook her head.

"You're in the gray area, but inchin' close to the danger zone, babe." Deacon warned her.

"It's not your mess if we spitball." JC said.

"I mean clearly there is something there with those two. Two people can't spend that much time with each other and there not be something up. He takes her to all of his business dinners. There is something shady going on." Maddie reasoned.

"It's not a stretch I mean look at how crazy you two are 'bout each other." JC pointed out.

"No, no, no. Huge difference in personalities there. I'm Paul unfortunately. The better parts of his personality anyway. I'd never lay a hand on my wife and kids and I damn sure wouldn't have my kids drinkin' in the fourth grade." Deacon stopped that theory.

"I'm nothin' like my daddy. I'm just like my momma." Rayna corrected.

"You two are in deep denial aren't you?" Maddie looked between her parents.

"We sure are. Cause guess what, Maddie? Paul still loves my momma. The ramifications of that on the other thing that we're talkin' 'bout not good at all. As a man who has been in that position I punished myself I'm still real good at that when I wanna be. Paul on the other hand has been to prison and that's the kinda crazy son of a bitch, that ain't afraid to go back. If you get my drift. And he don't need no weapon he could do it with his bare hands." Deacon explained to her.

"The other man in this equation I don't trust not to have someone killed. I'm pretty sure that's a thing he does." Rayna added.

"Babe, you sure you don't wanna just run for the hills now?" Maddie asked JC.

"You think Big Jack Grayson is any different than Lamar Wyatt? The only difference is the amount of whiskey they drink in a day. I ran before he could turn me into a corporate executive. I saw what that did to Bobby it's obviously made him nuts. Hailey's the smart one, Bobby's the crazy one, Allie and Jeremy are clearly the screw-ups, and I'm well I'm the baby. Anyway, the point is in a position like that you either lose it or become master of the universe. To the real point of my statement I ain't goin' anywhere." JC rambled.

"Babe, you guys are so mean to Bobby. Every single one of you harp on him." Maddie laughed a little.

"Maddie, Bobby is dumb as a box of rocks. That's why we give him a hard time. That's also why I was supposed to take over the family business. Which was supposed to be Vince's job all along." JC explained.

"Vince woulda drank himself to death sooner. He was one of the smartest people I've ever known, but that was one pigheaded son of a bitch. He had the biggest problem with authority. He didn't do well with confines that's why he was always gettin' fired." Deacon nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Exactly, that's why he ran away. So, then it fell on Bobby. I made sure it stayed Bobby's problem. That's why he's been married so many times. And it's why we give the guy a hard time. He's an easy target. Hailey said it best she's the only one who has had a successful relationship and she don't even like him most of the time. Babe, I'd run if I were you." JC put his arm around Maddie.

"No way, I'm not going anywhere. I love you way too much." Maddie leaned against him.

"Oh please, Hailey loves Max. She just really loves to give him hell. Max was one of Deacon's strays. Babe, where did you round him up?" Rayna asked.

"Vince was my first stray and then we picked up Max from some hole in the wall bar. We had a band and then I met Ray. I rounded up most of her original band to be honest with ya." Deacon answered.

"Mom, is there any chance that you wanna help us with the save the date cards?" Maddie stuck her bottom lip out.

"I have a marathon week this week, baby girl. The good news is we just have to pick the pictures that we like out of here and send them to the photographer no work necessary. Wednesday night is your daddy's Opry anniversary concert. We have a lot to do for that. I always have time for you though and you know that." Rayna replied.

"Shit, I forgot all about that. I need to go shopping. I don't have anything to wear." Maddie groaned.

"You liked that outfit I had on the other day why not go to Presley? He's only a couple of blocks from your place. He asked me to send you his way anyway. Just tell him that I sent you." Rayna told her.

"That'll be perfect. Babe, I'm gonna need some cash." Maddie batted her eyelashes at JC.

"Cricket, what the hell do you do with your money?" JC looked confused.

"Blame them," Maddie threw Deacon and Rayna under the bus.

"We don't ever give her, her full royalties checks. We give them to her a little bit at a time. When we first gave her control of all her finances she blew through two million dollars in three days. So, we just took control back and we haven't given it back to her and she likes it that way." Deacon defended himself.

"You have a money manager I just let my parents do it for me. I explained it to you the other day." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't care it's your money it's up to you who manages it. My sister manages mine because like you said I don't trust actual money managers not to rob me blind. If it were up to me I'd keep my money under the mattress." JC retorted.

"I'm am freakin' starvin'. Anyone else want a pizza? I'm gonna order a pizza." Deacon grabbed his phone.

"I can always eat." JC jumped on board with that.

"Please, baby, you already know what I want and what the kids want." Rayna smiled at him.

"I've got it covered." Deacon winked at her.

* * *

Deacon was in the garage with Betty's hood up. Every so often he liked to go over all their vehicles and make sure that they stayed in working order. "Damn it, Ray. I taught you how to check the oil I don't know why you don't." He cussed his wife even though she wasn't out there with him.

"DJ, what in the world are you doin' out here this early on a Sunday? This is supposed to be a day of rest." Paul walked out into the garage. He had ended up staying all night.

"I am doin' tune ups. I can't sleep worth a damn ever, so I thought I'd get somethin' done. Since, my wife seems to think that it's illegal for her to ever check the oil I'm gonna top this off." Deacon grabbed a quart of oil off the shelf.

"That's a mighty fine piece of machinery for ya'll to be lettin' the oil get low in it." Paul sat down at the work bench.

"This was actually Virginia's car before it was Ray's. It was one of her cars anyway she had quite a few, but this one was her favorite and she left it to Ray. From what I understand she was one hell of a woman who gave birth to one hell of a woman." Deacon poured some oil into the car.

"Virginia was one hell of a woman. She was gorgeous, smart, and funny. For such a beautiful woman she couldn't write a song worth a damn." Paul chuckled.

"You knew Ray's momma? And did you hit on my mother-in-law?" Deacon looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I knew Virginia I wrote a few songs for her back in the day. Like I said she was a gorgeous woman, DJ. I was young and better lookin' back then of course I hit on her. Rayna looks a lot like her momma. She acts a lot like her too." Paul picked up a tool and toyed around with it.

"You really used to be an unmitigated son of a bitch. While my momma was out workin' her ass off to keep the lights on and a roof over our heads you were here makin' pretty decent money." Deacon shook his head. Nothing about his father surprised him anymore.

"DJ, you already knew what a son of a bitch I used to be. I had a pretty good run here before my drinkin' got the better of me like usual. One of the highlights of my career was writin' for Virginia though. She actually co-wrote a couple with me. She was a remarkable woman." Paul told him.

"That's what Watty says, but then again he felt for her what I feel for her daughter. I'm sorry that I never got a chance to meet her momma. Just hearin' the way that Ray talks 'bout her I know that was special and I know that she was her hero." Deacon put the dipstick back in and checked the oil levels.

"I liked Virginia a lot. I know she woulda liked you cause she liked me alright. She had a set of pipes on her Daphne comes the closest to soundin' like her. I'll tell ya who's gonna put all of us to shame though Pistol. Have you heard the voice that comes outta that little thing?" Paul walked over and stuck his head under the hood of the car.

"I have heard it she's gonna be great." Deacon beamed with pride. "How's Betty lookin' to you?"

"This old girl seems to be in pretty good shape. You did learn a thing or two from standin' on the front bumper of that old truck next to your old man." Paul gripped his shoulder affectionately.

"I remember that old truck. You were always workin' on that damn thing. Before you lost yourself to the alcoholism I loved standin' there on that bumper next to you. Then when I got older and things were worse I still enjoyed it cause it was one of the few times you were nice to me. I don't know if ever told ya this, but before my music career took off one of the ways I made money was by workin' on cars. One of the only things you ever did right by me was teachin' me that." Deacon smiled a little bit.

Unbeknownst to either of them Rayna stood in the doorway watching them and she snapped a quick picture on her phone.

"If that's the case then you should know better than to let these spark plugs get this loose. Get me a damn wrench, boy." Paul ordered him.

Deacon grabbed Paul a wrench. "There you go, old man."

"Seriously, ya'll? Do you have some sort of genetic disorder that makes you not be able to sleep?" Rayna made her presence known.

"Alcoholism," Deacon and Paul answered in unison.

"Fair enough. I woke up and the other side of the bed was cold." Rayna crossed her arms over her chest.

"I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep. I didn't wanna wake ya, so I thought I'd come tinker 'round." Deacon replied.

"You really are the best husband that a woman could ask for." Rayna wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"And you're the best wife that a man could have." Deacon turned his head and kissed her.

"I'm gonna go make some breakfast. Any special requests?" Rayna rested her chin on her shoulder.

"How 'bout friend ham, scrambled eggs, and toast?" Deacon asked her hopefully.

"Fried ham, scrambled eggs, toast, and home style potatoes for Paul because I know how much he loves 'em." Rayna agreed.

"You got you a good woman, son." Paul grinned.

"I know I do. I plan on keepin' her as long as I can." Deacon spun around and put his hands on her hips. "Mornin', beautiful."

"Morning back, handsome." Rayna put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed him.

"Mmm, that's my favorite way to start my day." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"Mine too, baby. I'm gonna go start on breakfast before I have a very rambunctious four-year-old wanting to help me make fried foods." Rayna laughed softly.

"He's your little barnacle, momma. He just loves you and always wants to be with you." Deacon kissed both her cheeks.

"I love him and I want him with me, but I don't want him to get hurt. He doesn't always listen to what I say." Rayna pointed out to him.

"He's a Claybourne we don't listen well." Paul volunteered.

"Paul, you ain't tellin' me a thing that I don't already know." Rayna stole one last kiss from Deacon and went into the house to start breakfast.

"Tighten those spark plugs and the battery cables too while you're at it. After we eat I'll go get my toolkit outta the truck and show you how this is done." Paul drummed his fingers on the side of the car.

"Thank you, Paul, I don't know what I'm doin' or anythin'." Deacon gave him a look.

"You're a crabby old bastard I'm gonna go inside and talk to your wife. She's a hell of a lot more pleasant than you." Paul rolled his eyes.

"You don't say?" Deacon smirked.

"I'm goin' in the damn house. I can't deal with you." Paul shook his head and walked inside.

Deacon laughed and finished up what he was doing. He washed his hands in the sink that was out there and headed into the kitchen. "Where'd Paul go? It's feedin' time. He should be right here waitin' for food."

"He said that he had somethin' that he wanted show me. He should be back in a minute." Rayna gathered up everything that she needed to make breakfast.

"With that man there is no tellin'." Deacon sat down at the counter.

Paul came back into the room carrying a notebook that had a rubber band around it. He took the rubber band off and flipped through it until he found what he was looking for. "Here it is. Take a look at that." He laid a picture down on the counter.

"Oh my God. Is that you and my momma?" Rayna studied the picture.

"Yeah, it is. We did a little work together back in the day." Paul answered her.

"Wow, that looks like it could be us in that picture. I knew that I look like him I just never realized that you look that much like her." Deacon observed.

"I didn't know that I look that much like her. I didn't know that him and my momma wrote together until Roxy and Trina mentioned it to me the other day." Rayna observed.

"I didn't know until Paul said somethin'." Deacon informed her.

"You can keep that picture if you want to. I have somethin' else for you. Before I did what I do best and got my ass bounced by my publishin' house I co-wrote a song with Virginia. I didn't get a chance to give it to her it's not exactly finished, but I thought you might want it." Paul took a piece of paper out of his notebook and laid it on the counter.

Rayna picked it up and read it. "If there were ever any doubt about which parents we took after this proves it for sure." She passed the paper to Deacon.

Deacon read it and looked over at her. "We coulda wrote that. It's the same style and everythin'. Wow, everythin' I went through in my life tryin' not to be him and I didn't realize that I had the good parts of him too."

"If you didn't notice this song isn't exactly finished. I mean it could stand as is, but I think it needs a little something more." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Are you suggestin' that we finish it?" Deacon asked even though he already knew the answer to that question.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. Who better to finish it than us? You know that this would make a really good duet." Rayna gave him a look and exaggerated her words.

"Alright, we can finish the song. I'm down for the challenge if you are." Deacon smiled.

"I think that you and I have an obligation to finish this song. So, yeah, I'm in." Rayna smiled back at him.

"I was hopin' that you two would say that. I think that this song is perfect for you two." Paul beamed at them.

"How come I think that he just got us to do what he wanted us to do without askin' us to do it?" Deacon spoke in a circle.

"Probably because that's exactly what he just did." Rayna chuckled. She tucked the song and the picture away in one of the drawers. "Paul, you need to test your blood and take your anti-rejection meds."

"If I wanted to be nagged like that I would still be married." Paul grumbled.

"If you would take care of yourself then I wouldn't have to nag you. Go to your room and get your testing kit." Rayna ordered him with a pointed finger.

"Alright, I'm goin'." Paul shuffled off to the room he always slept in when he stayed over.

"Damn, he doesn't listen to anyone the way he listens to you." Deacon chuckled.

"I seem to have that effect on people." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"You really do, babe." Deacon shook his head at her.

"I swear I'm my own personal walkin' pharmacy." Paul came back and sat all his medicine down on the counter.

"Damn, old man, you do have a lot of medicine." Deacon looked at the wide assortment of pill bottles.

"High blood pressure medicine, arthritis medicine, diabetes medicine, anti-rejection meds, Vicodin for when the arthritis gets so bad that the regular meds don't help, blood thinners, and a multi-vitamin." Paul listed off. He opened the kit to test his blood sugar levels. He put a test strip in the meter and pricked his finger.

"You got off the insulin?" Rayna asked him.

"I've been off the insulin for a few years now. I have my blood sugar pretty well under control. My doctor is talkin' 'bout takin' me off the rest of the diabetes medicine." Paul looked down at his meter. "One-ten, that's pretty damn good."

"That's really damn good." Deacon looked impressed.

"Now, ya'll get outta my way so I can finish cookin'." Rayna shooed them away from the counter.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	49. Chapter 49

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Mistress Named Music by Eric Church, Knives of New Orleans by Eric Church, and In Another's Eyes by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.

* * *

Chapter 49

"I think that sounded pretty good. What did you think?" Deacon put his headphones around his neck and looked over at Rayna.

"I think that we finally got it down. Paul and momma laid some solid groundwork and we just had to build on it. I swear it's like I coulda wrote that song when I was married to Teddy. It's deep and it really makes you feel." Rayna replied.

"When we sing that I can feel the internal struggle that she must have been goin' through. Paul either got her drunk or he's a better listener than I ever thought he was to get her to open up like that. This had to come from that private place deep down inside her. With her position in life that wasn't somethin' that she could afford to have out there." Deacon opened a bottle of water and took a drink.

"Babe, have you ever looked in a mirror? You're a damn good lookin' man. You are the spittin' image of your father. He still has this way of charmin' people. I can't imagine that it would have been hard for him to get her to talk to him. It's not like she had a whole lotta people that she could talk to." Rayna took his water from him and took a sip.

"Do you think that song is finished or does it need somethin' else?" Deacon asked her.

"I think we're done. There is nothing else we can add to it that's gonna make it any better. We have our arrangement and we have the lyrics down pat." Rayna answered him.

"Wanna give it another run through to make sure that we have it down where we want it?" Deacon asked her.

"Yeah, first check the monitor and see what our children are up to." Rayna pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Deacon checked the video monitor. He pressed an intercom button. "Claybourne's report."

"Here!" Deac's voice came in.

"Here!" Jayme reported.

"Jack Henry, here." Jack's cute little voice filtered over the intercom.

Deacon waited a beat for Charlie to answer, but she never did. "Where's your sister? Charlie, where are you?"

"I don't know." Deac replied.

"I don't know either." Jayme added.

"Deacon, find your daughter." Rayna told him.

"Charlie, where you at?" Deacon called out and he still didn't get answer.

"That worked well." Rayna stepped over to the intercom. "Charleston Virginia Claybourne, you have two seconds to answer me. Don't make me come look for you."

"I'm right here." Charlie finally answered.

"What are doing? Why didn't you answer your father?" Rayna demanded. She was obviously the hard ass when it came to the kids.

"I was busy and I couldn't get to the intercom." Charlie replied vaguely.

"Charlie, you answer me right now. I know when you're up to something you won't answer my questions directly. If you don't want me to come up there you will be honest with me." Rayna laid down the law.

"I'm shootin' my bow off the balcony in your room." Charlie admitted.

"Charlie, put the bow up and get outta there." Rayna ordered her.

"Yes, momma." Charlie sighed loudly.

"That girl I swear. She gets more like you every day." Rayna glared at Deacon.

"Don't blame that on me. I didn't tell her to do it." Deacon defended himself.

"Your genetics are to blame for her. That is somethin' that you would do and you know it." Rayna poked him in the chest with her finger.

"Ow, watch it my chest is sore." Deacon rubbed his chest.

"You can only use that as an excuse so much longer." Rayna poked him again.

"You wanna start somethin'?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"What if I do?" Rayna got up in his face.

"You don't wanna do that. I'm givin' ya fair warnin'." Deacon cautioned her.

"I think I do." Rayna brushed her nose against his.

"Wrong move, babe, wrong move." Deacon grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her.

Rayna let out a loud giggle. "Deacon, stop it right now!"

"You mess with the bull you get the horns, babe." Deacon pressed the intercom button again. "Ya'll I got your momma right where I want her if you wanna piece of this get down to the studio now."

"Oh no, you didn't." Rayna struggled against him as best she could.

"I think I just did." Deacon kept tickling her.

The kids came running in faster than should have been possible. But mischief was involved and they were about to miss out on that.

"Ya'll want a piece of this?" Deacon asked them.

"Before you answer that remember who pays your allowance." Rayna reminded them.

"Daddy gets us whatever we want." Deac pointed out to her.

"Of course he does." Rayna giggled again.

"Come on ya'll get in here." Deacon encouraged them. "Remember her really ticklish spot is right here." He tickled her stomach.

Rayna laughed louder once the kids got in on the act. "Jack, you love your momma you're supposed to help me."

Jack attached himself to Deacon's leg and tried to pull him down to the ground.

"Oh that's it. It's on now. Ya'll deal with her I've got this monkey." Deacon picked Jack up and pretended to body slam him on the ground. He started tickling him.

"Daddy, stop." Jack squealed with laughter.

"No way," Deacon kept going at him.

"Ya'll let me up right this minute." Rayna tried to get away from the other three who had wrestled her to the ground.

"Can't do that, momma." Jayme shook his head.

"Jesus, Charlie, you are freakishly strong for a little girl." Rayna looked at her daughter.

Deacon's phone started ringing in his pocket. "Time out for just a minute." He grabbed his phone. "Hello?" He listened to his caller. "Maddie, I have a situation I'm dealin' with right now. I'm gonna have to call you back. Just do whatever it is you're gonna do and I'll deal with the fall out later." He hung up before Maddie could say anything else. "Now, where was I? Oh, yeah." He started tickling Jack again.

"What did she want?" Rayna could barely breathe from laughing so hard.

"No idea I wasn't listenin'. She was doin' somethin' at the office. I figure she's a grown woman she can't get into much trouble." Deacon shrugged.

"I'm too tied up to worry." Rayna tickled Deac while he tickled her.

* * *

"Maddie, are you absolutely sure 'bout this?" Casey asked her friend.

"Dad said to do whatever it is I'm gonna do and he would clean up the mess later." Maddie replied.

"Ok, Max, let's do this." Casey waved to MJ.

"Casey, for the last time don't call me Max. My father's name is Max I'm MJ." MJ grabbed his iPad.

"Except I believe that the M in your name stands for Max." Casey pointed out to him.

"Let's just do this thing that is probably gonna get me fired." MJ turned on the iPad and logged into Highway 65's Instagram account.

"You're not gonna get fired. My mother is the CEO and you're my future nephew. This is gonna be fine." Maddie assured him.

"Fine until your crazy ass Aunt Tandy grabs me by the ear and tells me I'm supposed to be social media director and not an ass clown." MJ pointed out to her.

"Just turn the damn thing on, MJ." Casey rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, and we're live in three, two, one." MJ gave them the go sign.

"Hey guys, I'm Maddie Claybourne." Maddie waved at the camera.

"And I'm Casey Miller." Casey smiled.

"Today we are taking over Highway Sixty-five's Instagram account because we have nothing better to do and we like to create chaos." Maddie added.

"Joinin' us today behind the camera is our social media director MJ Waterson. MJ, say hi." Casey laughed when she saw the look on his face.

MJ turned the Camera around to face him. "Hey ya'll," He turned the camera back on Maddie and Casey.

"Let's start out with a tour of the office." Maddie gestured for MJ to follow them.

"If we are doin' this we are gonna do it right. We are startin' in our fearless leader's office. As you can see everythin' is in its place." Casey gave a narrative.

"And she's gonna murder us for going through her stuff. It won't be the first time she's yelled at us and it won't be the last. MJ, get a shot of this." Maddie held up a framed drawing that Rayna had on his desk. "This is a drawing that my baby brother made. He's four and clearly my mother's baby. His pictures are all over this office."

"Oh, Maddie, it's a good thing that you grew up to be hot." Casey held up a picture of Maddie when she was younger.

"I got contacts and learned what hair products were for. I will have you know that I was adorable." Maddie took the picture from her.

"Let's see if we can crack the boss's computer password and listen to a preview of one of my new tracks." Casey sat down at Rayna's desk and pulled up a file on the computer.

"I won't even ask how you knew the password. Public service announcement for the day don't be like Casey. Casey is a delinquent." Maddie laughed.

"And here we go." Casey played a clip of one of her new songs.

"I think we've gotten into all the trouble we can in here. Casey, you ready to move on?" Maddie asked.

"I am so ready." Casey got up. "Where to now?"

"Now, we are gonna go mess around somewhere that can really get us in trouble." Maddie informed her.

"Maddie, you've got a message here from your fiancé and he says that he's not helpin' you out if your parents come after you." MJ read.

"Thanks, babe, love you too. If you stick your nose any farther up my dad's ass you're gonna lose your face in there." Maddie blew a kiss at the camera and kept walking.

"Jimmy, you're gonna need a little ice for that burn." Casey chimed in.

Maddie stopped in front of Deacon's office door. "We are gonna go into the dragon's lair right now. We will get in more trouble for being in here than we will for being in my mom's office. I can't promise what we'll find in here." She opened the door.

"Here we have the Grammy for best country album, and the CMA for male vocalist of the year, and the ACM for entertainer of the year. If you can't tell from all those clues this is Deacon Claybourne's office. The Archbishop of country music guitar players himself." Casey took over the narration.

"His desk is a literal shrine to all of us kids. I don't know how he actually gets any work down with as many pictures as he has on here." Maddie picked up Rayna and Deacon's wedding picture. "My mom and dad on their wedding day." She sat it down and picked up another picture. "My dad and his real true love his Martin." She traded it out for another picture. "However, if there is one thing that my dad loves more than my mom and that guitar it's my baby sister. Those two are absolutely inseparable."

"Maddie, are you ready to get to the point of why we really risked our contracts to do this today?" Casey asked.

"I'm so ready." Maddie grinned. "This is the inner sanctum of the undisputed king of guitar players in this city. His career went over a long bumpy back road to get to the good place, but he finally made it. This week we are celebrating his ten year anniversary of his Opry induction."

"Deacon doesn't make a big deal outta this stuff, so it's our job to do it for him. He's really humble that way. He's a great guy. I've never said this to him, but he is like a father to me. He's been there since the start of my career as a mentor and he always has some of his Man Wisdom ready when I need it. So, I let myself be roped into this even though I know he's gonna hate it." Casey took over.

"My dad isn't only a great dad he's an amazing mentor. He produced my first album and it went platinum. That was one of the most special experiences of my life. I'm sure that we are gonna pay for this later, but it's time for someone to make a big deal out of him too. Every day he makes me feel like I'm the most special person on the earth." Maddie went on.

The phone on Deacon's desk rang.

"Deacon Claybourne's office." Casey answered the phone. She laughed and put it on speakerphone. "Maddie, it's for you."

"Maddie, Casey, both of you get outta my office and put everythin' back where it goes. The next time you get one your bright ideas I'm gonna come down there." Deacon's voice came over the phone.

"Bye, dad." Maddie laughed and hung up the phone.

* * *

"Look at how much daddy looks like Pa in that picture." Charlie pointed at a picture of Deacon that was hanging up at the Opry.

"Daddy always looks like Pa." Jayme pointed out to her.

"We look like daddy." Deac added.

"Look at momma." Jack pointed at a picture of Deacon and Rayna together.

"Momma's hair looks funny in that picture." Charlie laughed.

"Momma's hair looked like that because we had been on a tour bus for six months and there was no place to plug up my hair straightener." Rayna walked up behind them.

"Momma, you ain't supposed to sneak up on us." Jack giggled.

"Ya'll weren't supposed to wander off like that. Your sister was supposed to be watchin' you too though. Come on, daddy wants to see you before it's time for him to go on." Rayna rounded them up and herded them towards Deacon's dressing room.

"There ya'll are. I'm goin' on in a minute. I wanted to get some lovin' beforehand." Deacon kissed all their heads.

"How do I look, babe?" Rayna asked.

"You look perfect as always." Deacon kissed her cheek to keep from messing her lips up.

"I need to go get ready to introduce you. Make sure that they are ready to go." Rayna told him.

"I've got it." Deacon assured her.

"Daddy, do I have to wear the earplugs tonight?" Jack asked in a whine.

"Not tonight, Henry, it won't be that loud in here like in a stadium show." Deacon told him. He put a backstage pass around each of their necks.

"Deacon, you ready for me to take them?" Tandy stuck her head in the door.

"Yeah, that would be great." Deacon replied. "Ya'll go with Aunt Tandy and you behave for her and Uncle Buck."

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Ten years is a long time it's the number of years we've had the same mayor, it's the age of my twins, and it's the number of years I've been married to the man we're here to celebrate tonight. I've known him a lot longer than ten years and I'm better off for it both personally and professionally. I'm not as eloquently spoken as he is, but I'm gonna try to do him justice. If I had to describe Deacon Claybourne in one word it would be survivor. It doesn't matter what life throws at him he will always manage to pick himself up and get back on his feet. It took him a lot false starts and near misses to get here, but he's where he belongs now. Ladies and gentlemen help me welcome to the stage, Freakin' Deacon Claybourne." Rayna smiled and clapped as Deacon walked out on stage.

Deacon kissed her cheek. "Thanks for the kind words, baby. You're gonna come back out here later and do a couple songs with me."

"You know it." Rayna exited the stage.

"I'm gonna start ya'll out tonight with a new one. I've had a lotta down time to do some writin' lately and this is one of the songs that shook loose." Deacon singled to his band and he started playing.

" _I still remember Miss Bessie singin'. Black wrinkled fingers on ivory keys. Just five years old my church shoes a danglin'. Yeah, she's long gone, and I'm still chasin' this song."_ He sang softly.

" _With a guitar full of freedom and a head full of lines. That night life full of demons has been a hell of a ride. I got a crazy heart and I was born to lose it. Married to a dream with a mistress named music."_ The feelings and emotions in Deacon's voice were apparent as he sang. This song had come from that deep place inside of him.

" _No hope and squarely solitary. Enough whiskey and Coke, boys, to get me in a bind. Amps juiced, the whole damn block could hear me. Even that cop car rollin' past. By the time they hit the front door I was out the back."_ He had drawn from his experiences when he first came to Nashville to write that verse.

" _With a guitar full of freedom and a head full of lines. That night life full of demons has been a hell of a ride. I got a crazy, crazy heart and I was born to lose it. Married to a dream with a mistress named music."_ The chorus encompassed his life in a nutshell. Being married to Rayna was his dream and music was his second love.

" _White calloused fingers on bronze and nylon. These same old boots are still tappin' time. Not quite the buzz I used to tie on. But 'til I'm gone I'll be chasin' this song."_ Deacon winked at Rayna who stood on the side of the stage.

" _With a guitar full of freedom and a head full of lines. That night life full of demons has been a hell of a ride. I got a crazy heart and I was born to lose it. Married to a dream with a mistress named music. I'm married to a dream with a mistress named music."_ He closed his eyes as he finished singing.

The crowd erupted with applause.

Deacon played a few more songs. He did some of his old stuff mixed in with some of his really old stuff. "Alright, I got another new one for ya'll. Like most of my songs this one was inspired by a girl, my girl." He started to strum his guitar.

" _Yeah, I'd give this last wrinkled dollar in my pocket that I earned with a hammer and vice. If I could undo some things and grow me some wings. Fly outta this quarter tonight. Yeah, tonight every man with a tv is seein' a man with my clothes and my face. In the last thirty minutes I've gone from a person of interest to a full blown manhunt underway. I did what I did. I have no regrets. When you cross the line you get what you get."_ This was the song that he had started writing in New Orleans.

" _Tonight a bleedin' memory is tomorrow's guilty vein. Your auburn on a faraway seawall screams across the Pontchartrain. I'm haunted by headlights and a crescent city breeze. One wrong turn on bourbon cuts like the knives of New Orleans."_

Rayna watched him from the side of the stage. She could see the picture he was painting with the lyrics in her mind as clear as day. This took every part of their history and boiled it down to its essence.

" _I'm a ghost dodgin' bullets in all of these alleys just lookin' for a getaway key. Wrapped up in the night hidin' out in plain sight, but this grip's gettin' tight around me. Ain't no gettin' out that I can see. They'll take me dead if they ever take me."_ Deacon tapped his boot on the stage to keep time.

" _Tonight a bleedin' memory is tomorrow's guilty vein. Your auburn on a faraway seawall screams across the Pontchartrain. I'm haunted by headlights and a crescent city breeze. One wrong turn on bourbon cuts like the knives of New Orleans."_

" _What I wouldn't give for just one more kiss. I'm all outta time. Honey it's come down to this."_ Deacon stole a look at Rayna. He knew that that line would hit her in the feelings the way it had grabbed him when he wrote it.

" _I'm haunted by your hazel eyes and this crescent city breeze. One wrong turn on bourbon cuts like the knives of New Orleans. Of New Orleans. I did what I did. I did what I did. I did what I did. I did what I did."_ Deacon finished up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've got somethin' special in store for ya tonight. Help me welcome back to the stage my wife, Rayna Jaymes." Deacon waved Rayna out on stage with him.

Rayna walked out on stage and waved to the crowd. "What we're about to sing for you is a song that has been a long time in the makin'. The majority of it was actually written by my momma and Deacon's father. So, like Deacon said this is a special one." She sat down on a stool.

Deacon sat down on a stool next to hers and he started playing. _"In another's eyes I'm someone who loves her enough to walk away from you. I'd never cheat and I'd never lie in another's eyes."_

" _In another's I can do no wrong. He believes in me and his faith is strong. I'd never fall or even compromise in another's eyes."_ Rayna took the next half of the verse.

" _In another's eyes I'm afraid that I can't see this picture perfect portrait that they paint of me. They don't realize and I pray they never do cause every time I look I'm seein' you. In another's eyes."_ They stared deeply into each other's eyes as they sang. This was why they said that it was like they'd wrote this song themselves. It fit their situation when she had been married to Teddy perfectly.

" _In another's eyes starin' back at me. I see a sinkin' soul tryin' desperately."_ Deacon sang.

" _To turn the tide before it dies in another's eyes, yeah."_ Rayna sang with all of her heart.

" _And what they don't see lord is killin' me. It's a blessin' and a curse that love is blind."_ They wailed together. This part they had wrote themselves.

" _In another's eyes I'm afraid that I can't see this picture perfect portrait that they paint of me. They don't realize and I pray to God they never do cause every time I look I'm seein' you. In another's eyes. In another's eyes. In another's eyes."_ When they finished singing Deacon leaned over and kissed her.

The pair held hands and listened as the crowd gave them a standing ovation. That had turned out better than they had hoped.

"Before I get on with this show I think that there is another order of business that needs to be takin' care of. Ray, you ready for this?" Deacon grinned. He always had a trick or two up his sleeve.

"I'm more than ready for this, sugar." Rayna smiled back at him.

"Maddie, you're just standin' 'round over there doin' nothin' come on out here." Deacon waved Maddie out on the stage.

Maddie walked out smiling and waving to the audience. "Do I wanna ask?"

"Your father has a question that he wanted to ask you." Rayna informed her.

"Maddie, I have a very important question to ask you. Are you ready?" Deacon addressed his daughter.

"Ready for what?" Maddie looked confused.

"You know that we are a very close knit family. And I was wonderin' if you wanted to get even closer?" Deacon was still being cryptic.

"Dad, I honestly have no clue what you're talking about right now." Maddie shook her head.

"Maddie, brace yourself, you'll understand in a minute." Rayna put her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not expressin' myself very well, so I'll just come out and ask ya. Maddie, would you like to join me and your momma as the newest member of the Opry family?" Deacon broke out in a wide smile.

"Did he just ask me what I think he asked me?" Maddie was floored she couldn't find her words. She put her hands over her mouth and gasped.

"Maddie, on behalf of the Grand Ol' Opry your daddy and I would like to invite you to join the family." Rayna repeated the offer for her.

"Yes, of course the answer is yes." Maddie laughed her emotions were all over the place at the moment.

"But, wait just a minute, we're not done yet." Deacon added. "Jimmy, come here."

JC walked out on the stage with his hands in his pockets. "I just won't ask."

"Jimmy, would you like to join us as a member of the Opry family?" Rayna asked him.

JC grinned from ear to ear. "Hell yeah," he laughed and clapped his hands.

"Come here, ya'll." Deacon and Rayna hugged the both of them while the audience clapped.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I thought that I would throw in a few cute family moments as a build up to the wedding. I also thought it was time to put a little more music in. Until next time please review.


	50. Chapter 50

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Island by Trent Willmon, Better As a Memory by Kenny Chesney, and More Than A Memory by Lee Brice.

* * *

Chapter 50

" _She's like the ocean that takes breath away. Endless and open and in a moment she can change. Like water flowin' fillin' up my soul no way of knowin' how deep she really goes. And sometimes I can predict her like the tides and some days her storm will take me by surprise."_ Deacon was sneaking time in the studio to finish up his album.

" _But I'm her rock upon the shoreline I'm her piece of solid ground and I'm the one that she can lean on when her waves come crashin' down. And she's afraid that with the rain I'll drift away and I'll disappear. But she's my ocean and I'm her island. I ain't goin' anywhere."_ He'd written this song once he'd realized that he had finally become the man that Rayna had always needed him to be. He saw just how hard it was for her with him being out of commission with his surgery.

" _What she don't know is before she came along. I was goin' nowhere so close to bein' gone. Just another drifter lost at sea. Until the day her love surrounded me."_ He brought things full circle with that verse. She'd been the one to save him first.

" _But I'm her rock upon the shoreline I'm her piece of solid ground and I'm the one that she can lean on when her waves come crashin' down. And she's afraid that with the rain I'll drift away and I'll disappear. But she's my ocean and I'm her island. I ain't goin' anywhere."_ He closed his eyes and sang into the mic.

" _And she's afraid that with the rain I'll drift away and I'll disappear. But I'm stayin' right here. Cause she's my ocean and I'm her island I ain't goin' anywhere. Yeah, I'm her island."_ He finished the song.

Watty gave him the thumbs' up from the other side of the glass.

"That's a wrap on that song, ya'll." Deacon high fived Max.

"We are tearin' 'em up and puttin' 'em down, brother." Max whooped.

"We are just a couple songs away from bein' done, but I gotta go. If I don't get into the office like right now I'm gonna have somethin' to answer for." Deacon checked his watch.

"You gonna be able to sneak away again later? I figure we may as well finish this thing up now that we are so close." Max asked him.

"Yeah, I'll be able to come by later and finish this up. I don't know how much longer I can get away with sneakin' away without her askin' questions." Deacon replied.

"These women I swear. They make it impossible to just have a little me time. Hailey is even startin' to wonder what the hell I've been doin' with my time. She normally doesn't give a damn what I'm doin' as long as I'm leavin' her alone." Max commiserated with him.

"Mad Max, she's probably gettin' suspicious cause you have terrible excuses." Deacon packed up his guitar.

"I have a feelin' if she really thought that I was cheatin' she woulda tracked me down by now." Max put his guitar in the case.

"I'll see you fellas later, thanks for bein' so flexible." Deacon waved at the rest of the band. He opened the door. "If she thought you were cheatin' she woulda had Bobby beat your ass with a baseball bat or tracked you down at the very least. But I think Bobby woulda come after you with a baseball bat cause that family is crazy."

"Vince was the sane one. Well, Hailey is sane she's just a lawyer they are a different breed of people." Max walked out to the parking lot with Deacon.

"And what the hell do you two think you're doin'?" Hailey was leaned up against the side of Max's truck.

"Sugar lips, what are you doin' here?" Max tried to pour on the charm.

"Don't you sugar lips me. Bein' charmin' is not gonna get you outta the mess you're in. You've been sneakin' 'round and comin' and goin' at all hours of the day and night. So, today I decided to follow you." Hailey arched her eyebrow.

"Whatever you think this is it's not what it looks like. Blame him." Max threw Deacon under the bus.

"Why don't you tell me what you think we're doin'." Deacon suggested.

"I think that I don't want to know what is really goin' on here. I think that I'm not gonna ask questions and I'm not gonna mention this to anyone." Hailey shook her head.

"Hailey, we are makin' an album without my wife's knowledge. That's why we've been sneakin' 'round. We are almost finished and I want it to be a surprise." Deacon explained.

"Say no more, because I don't want to have knowledge that I will have to testify to in a court of law." Hailey retorted.

"You are so nice to us, baby." Max snorted sarcastically.

"Max, you're a friggin' idiot. I have to get to work. I'll see you at home later." Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Hey, now, let's talk here. If you're already playin' hooky from work let's see if we can make you a little later." Max rubbed up against her.

"I'm goin' to work. I don't wanna see how this plays out." Deacon put his guitar in the back of his truck and got behind the wheel.

* * *

"What is going on in here?" Tandy stuck her head into Rayna's office.

Rayna sat on one side of her desk making notes on a notepad and Jack sat on the other side doing the same thing.

"We are listenin' to demos and takin' notes, Aunt Tandy." Jack answered.

"No preschool today?" Tandy tried to hide a smirk.

"I tried and I failed. There were tears and I couldn't handle it. I suck at preschool drop off." Rayna hung her head in shame.

"Why didn't Deacon do preschool drop off? He's the only one who can handle it. He's immune to Jack's charms." Tandy asked.

"Deacon didn't do any drop offs this morning. He went to a meeting." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"Should we be worried about him? He's been going to a lot of meetings lately." Tandy didn't like the way that sounded.

"I don't know. We've both been all over the place lately. I know he hasn't been drinkin', but I haven't really been on top of it the way I normally am. I like to think that I would notice if he's been drinkin' because I know the signs." Rayna gave her an honest reply.

"I'm sorry that I asked now." Tandy shook her head.

"Aunt Tandy, shh, we tryin' to work here." Jack shushed her.

"Yeah, Tandy, we're tryin' to work here. Aren't you supposed to be in your office runnin' numbers or somethin' like that?" Rayna smirked at her.

"Watch yourself, young lady, I'll take it from him because he's so damn cute. You on the other hand just have a smartass mouth." Tandy glared at her.

"You're just now figurin' this out? I've had a smartass mouth my whole life." Rayna winked.

"I am so done with you today. I don't have words for you. I don't know why our parents couldn't have stopped at one child. You've made my life harder since the day you were born." Tandy pointed a threatening finger in her direction.

"You love me you can't pretend that you don't." Rayna retorted.

"Jack, be glad that you're the baby. Let me tell you something little sisters are a whole lot of trouble." Tandy told her nephew.

"I have three big sisters they are a lot of trouble too. Especially Maddie she's so needy. Daddy has a nervous tick named after her." Jack supplied helpfully.

Rayna and Tandy both looked away from the little boy to keep him from seeing them laugh.

"I'm just gonna go back to my office now." Tandy managed to get out without busting into laughter.

"You know what? I'll join you out in the hall for a minute." Rayna quickly excused herself.

"Rayna, that kid is hilarious. Don't send him to school ever I don't think they could teach him anything. That is our father's grandson." Tandy doubled over laughing.

"That little boy is a mess. He's equal parts both his grandfathers. Except he's the sweetest thing I've ever met and I don't know where that came from." Rayna laughed hard.

"What's going on here and how much trouble is it gonna cause me?" Bucky walked over.

"Babe, it's nothing for you to worry about." Tandy assured him.

"My son is hilarious. That's the only thing goin' on. He's tryin' to listen to demos and Tandy interrupted him." Rayna informed him.

Bucky patted the top of his head. "You see this? This is the last little bit of my hair I'm holding on to. Don't do anything crazy that's gonna make me lose it. Things I can't take right now; stupid tour ideas, stupid album ideas, or pregnant artists. I do not have the patience for any of that right now. If someone really wants to make my day they can actually put out a good album. I would like to make money. In other words keep Maddie on a leash. I don't need any more of her bright ideas. I'm going to my office."

"I think he's a little stressed. He needs a vacation. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Maddie is causing him trouble." Rayna watched her manager's retreating form.

"He's coordinating her and Jimmy's Opry induction concerts. Maddie needs this to go well and we need this to go well. With all this publicity that she has circulating surrounding her engagement and wedding you'd think we'd be able to capitalize off that, but her last album was, how do I put this nicely? Oh, I don't it sucked. It sucked so bad, Rayna." Tandy pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I know and she's supposed to be in the studio working on new stuff. I told her in a little bit nicer terms how horrible her last album was. I will talk to her about getting a new single out at the very least. I will also take some work off Bucky and deal with the Opry stuff myself. You need to take your husband on a vacation. I've never seen him wound so tightly and I've known him for a long time." Rayna told her.

"He's been cranky lately and I'm not sure why. It's not like him at all. I think he needs to relax." Tandy shrugged her shoulders.

"What if we do a double date tomorrow night up at the cabin? Mack owes me some babysitting favors. I feel like if I impose on one of my girls again they are gonna revolt." Rayna suggested.

"You're on we can go get wine and plan our menu on our lunch break." Tandy agreed.

"Perfect, to keep Deacon from rioting I'll invite Sadie and Rhett too. Lord knows if you and my husband have to be around each other without a buffer you'll murder each other." Rayna laughed.

"What's Rhett doing in town?" Tandy asked.

"I don't know. Daddy lets him do what he wants." Rayna stuck her bottom lip out and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't wanna know why ya'll are standin' out in the middle of the hallway. I'm just gonna step 'round ya and go to my office." Deacon tried to maneuver around them.

"You drinking again, you dirty poor boy?" Tandy asked him.

"No, I'm not drinkin' again. I value you my wife and kids too much for that. I was at a meetin' that keeps me from takin' a drink." Deacon pointed out.

"I didn't tell her to ask you that. She's been on a warpath." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I know she got me cornered last week." Deacon looked over her shoulder into her office. "Henry didn't go to preschool today I take it."

"He cried, babe, and you know what his tears do to me. He's my baby and I wanna keep him with me." Rayna sighed.

"Alright, I'll take care of preschool drop off from now on. I know he's your baby and I know you love him, but we're his parents it's our job to make sure he doesn't grow up stupid it's bad for the world, baby." Deacon kissed her forehead.

"He's the smart one, babe. You know how smart that little boy is. He will be ready for Kindergarten. I think he will be ok if on some days he doesn't go to preschool and he hangs out with me in my office. There was a reason the doctor told me to have another baby after Maddie. I hang on too tight and I get into their business. I have six kids, darlin' imagine what it'd be like if I only had two." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Right, goin' to my office now. I'm sure that there is some Deacon work waitin' for me. If you need a break send my son my way." Deacon replied.

"What is Deacon work?" Rayna asked him.

"Deacon work is the work that Tandy gives me that no one else wants to do or has the temperament to do." Deacon answered her.

"He's President of Artist relations and communications. Which is a position that I made up, so he would do the work that no one else wanted to do or had the temperament to do. He owns half this label he may as well do the work that no one else wants to do." Tandy explained.

"You are our father's daughter. That's something that he would do. He owns a quarter of this label he lost half his shares to me durin' a very intense poker game." Rayna corrected.

"I own three quarters of this label you gave me my shares back and gave me half of yours in exchange for walkin' the floor all night with our sick two-year-old." Deacon reminded her.

"We've traded shares back and forth since then. I refuse to believe that you more of my company than I do." Rayna argued with him.

"I'll get the paperwork I have proof." Deacon retorted.

"Can you two not do this out in the hallway? I don't want our damn employees to think that their CEO and talent scout tried shares of the label for sexual favors." Tandy whispered to them harshly.

"We don't trade shares for sexual favors. We trade shares because we are lazy or Deacon really wants a new hunting rifle even though he has seventeen. Or at one point I needed to use a little bit of space in his closet for my shoes." Rayna explained to her.

"Oh my God, you people are animals. Rayna, I'll meet you for lunch. I have work to do." Tandy headed to her office.

"What are you up to?" Deacon furrowed his brow.

"Dinner up at the cabin tomorrow night with my sister, your brother, and their spouses." Rayna told him.

"Fair enough, I'm practicin' with my band tonight so I won't be home for dinner. Or if I skip outta here a little early today I can make it home tonight." Deacon told her.

"Darlin', you're lyin' out your ass to me 'bout somethin' I just don't know what it is. I know you're lyin' though. You've lied to me enough times durin' our lives together for me to know that you're lyin'." Rayna stared him down.

"I'm not cheatin' and I'm not drinkin' other than that you don't get to know right now." Deacon rested his forehead against hers.

"Neither of those things crossed my mind, sugar. I just know you're lyin'. You can't lie to my face cause you have a tell. You can lie to me over the phone or with your back turned to me, but you never have been able to lie to me to my face. You've done it, but I always knew." Rayna brushed her lips against his.

"You're gonna be excited by this when I finally let ya in on it." Deacon promised.

"I trust you, babe." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck. "Go do whatever it is with your band that you don't want me to know about. I want my husband home for dinner and to snuggle with me in front of the tv later."

"If I go right now I should be able to make it back before the end of the day. At least that's the hope." Deacon put his arms around her waist.

"I'll see you then." Rayna replied.

* * *

"When are you gonna tell me where you were today?" Rayna stood at the kitchen counter preparing to make dinner.

Deacon hooked his iPod up to the dock and turned it on. "You'll see in a minute."

" _I move on like a sinner's prayer. Lettin' go like a levee breaks. Walk away as if I don't care learn to shoulder my mistakes. I'm built to fade like your favorite song. I get reckless when there's no need. Laugh as your stories ramble on. Break my heart, but it won't bleed. My only friends are pirates that's just who I am. I'm better as a memory than as your man."_

Rayna looked over at him. "That's a new one."

"It is." Deacon smiled.

" _Never sure when the truth won't do. I'm pretty good on a lonely night. I move on the way a storm blows through. I never stay, but then again I might. I struggle sometimes to find the words always sure until I doubt. Walk a line until it blurs build walls too high to climb out. But I'm honest to a fault. That's just who I am. I'm better as a memory than as your man."_

"I like it, babe." Rayna commented.

"I'm not so sure 'bout it." Deacon washed off the lettuce to make a salad.

" _I see you leanin' you're bound to fall. I don't wanna be that mistake. I'm just a dreamer nothin' more. You should know before it gets too late."_

"It sounds good and solid." Rayna told him.

"I just don't know." Deacon made a face.

" _Cause goodbyes are like roulette wheel you never know where they're gonna land. First you're spinnin' then you're standin' still left holdin' a losin' hand. But one day you're gonna find someone and right away you'll know it's true that all of your seeking's done it was just a part of the passin' through. Right there in that moment you'll finally understand that I was better as a memory than as your man. Better as a memory than as your man."_

"You got anythin' else on there?" Rayna asked him.

"Yeah, I got more. As usual I recorded a shit ton of songs, babe." Deacon replied.

"Play me another one. I wanna reserve judgement on that song. It's good. I like it, it's just not your best. It's just not you, I never thought of you that way. That characterizes Vince more than you." Rayna gave him her honest assessment.

"Ok, let's try this one." Deacon put another song on.

" _People say she's only in my head. It's gonna take time, but I'll forget. Say I need to get on with my life. What they don't realize. It's when you're dialin' six numbers just to hang up the phone. Drivin' 'cross town just to see if she's home. Wakin' a friend in the dead of the night just to hear him say it'll be alright. When you're findin' things to do to not fall asleep cause you know she's be there in your dreams. That's when she's more than a memory."_

"I like this one better already." Rayna started chopping up vegetables for the salad.

"I thought this was the better song." Deacon agreed with her.

" _Took a match to everythin' she ever wrote watched every word go up in smoke. Tore all her pictures off the wall. That ain't helpin' me at all. Cause when you're talkin' out loud to nothin' but air. You look like hell and you just don't care. You're drinkin' more than you every drank and sinkin' down lower than you ever sank. When you find yourself fallin' on your knees shakin' your fist beggin' please. That's when she's more than a memory."_

"That is for sure the better song, baby." Rayna put the vegetables in the bowl and passed it to Deacon.

"That song came easier than the other one." Deacon admitted.

" _She's more. She's more. People say she's only in my head. Gonna take time, but I'll forget. But when she's in every minute of every day every thought I think every breath I take. When she's everywhere when she's everythin' she's more than a memory."_

"Babe, you hit a homerun with that song. I'm so glad that you're gettin' back in the studio. I am so proud of you." Rayna put her arms around him.

Deacon reached into his shoulder bag and took something out of it. "Now keep in mind that this is just a mock up, but I have somethin' for ya." He showed her a CD case.

"What is that?" Rayna asked.

"I haven't been goin' to meetings lately. That was just a cover I was usin' to get into the studio and make my album. I have a complete album that's ready for release." Deacon grinned at her.

"Deacon, you have no idea how perfect it is that you have this right now. We needed this so badly." Rayna hugged him tightly.

"I know we needed it, babe. I wasn't thinkin' of that when I started recordin', but I hope it'll help." Deacon hugged her back.

"I can't believe that you recorded a whole album without tellin' me. This is just 'bout the best surprise ever." Rayna kissed him deeply.

Deacon kissed her back and pulled on her lip. "I recorded this whole things live and Watty was a special consultant."

"We are havin' a listenin' party for this tomorrow at the office. I want everyone to hear it." Rayna laughed when he lifted her up on the counter.

"We can do a listenin' party. I think it'll make Bucky happy that one of us is actually producin' music right now." Deacon nuzzled her neck with his lips.

"That will make him very happy. What are you gonna call this album?" Rayna moaned a little bit.

"I was thinkin' either Back to Me or Back Road Diary." Deacon gave her his choices.

"We can work on that. I think I like Story of Me. I think this album has the potential to be every bit as good as About A Girl is." Rayna suggested.

"You have very good ideas, babe. This is why I married ya." Deacon rubbed his beard against her neck.

"Ya'll are on the counter again. I eat my breakfast there." Jack walked into the room and smacked himself in the center of the forehead.

"This is why they can't go out in public, Jack." Charlie told her little brother.

"Hey now, ya'll be nice." Deacon scolded them lightly.

"Daddy, why do you have momma up on the counter?" Deac asked.

"Because it's a thing a do with your momma, so I can kiss her properly." Deacon explained to him.

"It's probably some weird sex thing." Jayme threw out there.

Rayna's jaw dropped with an audible pop. "Jaymes Wyatt Claybourne, what did you just say?"

"I said it was probably a sex thing." Jayme repeated himself.

"Jayme, where did you hear that?" Deacon blushed bright red.

"I heard it from Maddie." Jayme admitted.

"Your sister is in so much trouble when I get my hands on her." Rayna seethed.

"I'm gonna kill that girl." Deacon buried his face in his hands.

"What's sex?" Charlie asked innocently.

"Nothin' that you need to know about right now." Rayna answered her.

"Somethin' that you're not havin' 'til I'm dead." Deacon retorted.

"And this is why we need to censor ourselves in front of the kids." Rayna threw her hands up in the air.

"Talk to your daughter 'bout that. Obviously, she's the one with the problem." Deacon shrugged his shoulders. For the first time in a long time he was the innocent one.

Rayna picked her phone up and dialed Maddie's number. "Madison Miranda Claybourne, this is your mother. You need to give me a call back as soon as you get this. If you can't tell I ain't happy with you at all." She hung up and put her phone back on the counter.

By a twist of luck Maddie walked into the kitchen at that moment.

"Mom, why were you calling me?" Maddie asked.

"Your ten-year-old brother just said something about sex and that he heard it from you. Would you know anything about that?" Rayna asked her.

"He didn't hear that from me he heard it from Jimmy." Maddie threw JC under the bus.

"I'm warnin' you and I'll warn Jimmy too watch your damn mouths in front of these kids." Rayna warned her.

"Whatever you say, mom. They're little boys they are gonna say a lot worse than sex. At least they only said sex and it wasn't something really graphic, but they are getting to be about that age." Maddie put her hands up in a sign of surrender.

Deacon squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "Maddie, just stop talkin'. You're not helpin' your case right now." He groaned.

"What did I miss?" Jimmy walked in with a clueless look on his face.

"We're in trouble again. We were talking about sex in front of the little ones." Maddie told him.

"Oh, yeah, I told you that those kids are like sponges." JC gave her a hard look.

"This topic is now closed for discussion." Deacon put his foot down.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	51. Chapter 51

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Eli Young Band and Tackle Box by Luke Bryan.

* * *

Chapter 51

" _Way back on the radio dial a fire got lit inside a bright eyed child every note just wrapped around his soul from steel guitars to Memphis all the way to rock and roll. Oh, I can hear 'em playin' I can hear the ringin' of a beat up ol' guitar. Oh, I can hear 'em singin' keep on dreamin' even if it breaks your heart."_

Deacon, Rayna, Bucky, Glenn, and Tandy were in the conference room listening to Deacon's new album. Sadie, Juliette, and Avery were there too.

" _Downtown is where I used to wander old enough to get there, but too young to get inside. So I would stand out on the sidewalk listen to the music playin' every Friday night. Oh, I can hear 'em playin' I can hear the ringin' of a beat up ol' guitar. Oh, I can hear 'em singin' keep on dreamin' even if it breaks your heart."_

Rayna looked over at Deacon and smiled.

" _Some dreams stay with you forever drag you around and bring you back to where you were. Some dreams keep on gettin' better. Gotta keep believin' if you wanna know for sure. Oh, I can hear 'em playin'. I can hear the ringin' of a beat up ol' guitar. Oh, I can hear 'em singin' keep on dreamin' even if it breaks your heart."_

Deacon winked at her. That line hadn't just been about his career it was about their marriage and how it was his real dream.

" _Oh, I can hear 'em playin'. I can hear the ringin' of a beat up ol' guitar. Oh, I can hear 'em singin' keep on dreamin' even if it breaks your heart. Keep on dreamin' even if it breaks your heart. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh keep on dreamin', oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Don't let it break your heart."_

"How many more do we have left?" Tandy asked.

"We have one more." Rayna answered her.

" _It was two shades of brown scratched up plastic. It held extra line, lures, hooks, and matches. And his last name engraved in brass right there by the handle on the top. I'd slide it out of the back of his station wagon. Lug it down the bank with my arm draggin' and I could hardly wait for him to lift the lid on that tackle box."_

Deacon nodded his head along with the beat.

" _Cause I'd sail with him across the south pacific stand beside him on the bow of that battle ship. See him kiss the ground and thank the good lord Jesus. And watch him run to grandma cryin' on the dock. He opened up every time he opened up that old tackle box."_

Juliette looked at Deacon in awe of his abilities as a songwriter.

" _He's bait my hook and keep on tellin' stories 'bout nickel cokes, girls, and sand lot glories. Pickup trucks and peanut fields long before this town knew blacktop. I was almost ridin' with him shotgun down those dirt roads. Takin' turns on a jug of homemade shine as he raced his buddies down through mason holler fillin' the sky with dust and kicked up rocks. He opened up every time he opened up that old tackle box."_

Avery shifted positions in his chair they had been at this for a while now.

" _He's been gone twenty years tomorrow and I'm still holdin' on to this one wish. That God above would let me borrow grandpa for one more afternoon and one more fish."_

Deacon had to look away from everyone and wipe at his eyes. This song had taken an emotional toll on him because his grandfather had meant so much to him. He had to go to a different deep part of his soul to get this song.

" _And I'd sail with him across the south pacific stand beside him on the bow of that battleship. See him kiss the ground and thank the good lord Jesus. And watch him run to grandma cryin' on the dock. He opened up every time he opened up that old tackle box. Yeah, I sure loved every time he opened up that old tackle box."_

Rayna didn't say a word she just got to her feet and started clapping. Everyone else quickly joined suit.

"Alright, ya'll, knock it off. You're gonna embarrass the hell outta me." Deacon blushed furiously.

"Babe, that whole thing was masterful. You just put on a clinic." Rayna hugged him from behind and kissed the top of his head.

"Wow, Deacon, that was wow." Sadie didn't really have words for him.

"This guy right here is the one who helped me find my deeper side as an artist. I didn't know that he could go that deep though." Juliette gushed.

"There's a reason that he's our resident artist mentor." Avery observed.

Bucky had a huge smile on his face he got up and kissed Deacon in the center of his forehead wetly. "Freakin' Deacon, you big beautiful bastard, I love you so much right now. We are releasing a new single soon. We are back in the black."

"Bucky, did you want the rest of us to leave the room so you and Deacon can have a minute alone?" Tandy asked her husband.

"Nope, I'm just so happy right now. Someone is finally making music on this label." Bucky replied.

"He makes a very good point. That is the realest, purest music we've heard from anyone on this label in the last year. God knows that I love Maddie, but if I never have to hear that album ever again it'll be too soon." Glenn spoke up.

"If Glenn is saying it, it's true. You know what his other job is." Tandy snorted.

"Ya'll are my senior artist advisory panel. We need to brainstorm some album names. Ya'll came up with About A Girl. Let's see what we can come up with this time." Rayna turned to the others.

"Will came up with About A Girl. Because every song on that album was about you." Avery pointed out to her.

"About a Girl, My Life's Been a Country Song, Mississippi, Adams' County Line, Born and Bred. Those are just a few of his album names. I'm starting to think that he throws a dart at words and puts them together." Tandy listed off.

"What are your top choices?" Juliette asked.

"We came up with Story of Me, Back Road Diary, and Back to Me." Rayna gave them the names that they had come up with.

"Those are ideas anyway." Avery nodded his head.

"I've got it. Three Chords and the Truth. That's what he said to me when I first started writin' with him." Sadie suggested.

"That is perfect. It's so him. I like it." Rayna smiled.

"I like it too. We have a winner. Thanks, Sadie." Deacon was totally on board with the idea.

"Alright, we've got it down. We've just gotta get Deacon in for some headshots and have someone work out the album artwork." Bucky jotted down some notes.

"I already had that done." Deacon showed him the album cover he'd had done.

"This is perfect. I love the back cover and how you and the whole band are sitting on the fence posts. Who did you get to do this for you?" Bucky asked.

"Max made MJ do it. I mean he literally went over to MJ's apartment and drug him out." Deacon answered.

"He's the first decent social media director that we've had. Please don't do anything to make him quit." Glenn begged.

"It was noon the kid was sleepin'. Max did it not me. And talk to the bully that your partner in crime is married too she works him to death. Anyway, Mad Max is a big boy he comes at you and you move your ass. He once had me by one arm and Vince by one arm and he drug us outta a beer tent in Phoenix." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"I remember that. That was the night that no boilermakers rule was invented. We puked from Phoenix to somewhere in California." Bucky groaned.

"Bucky, shut the hell up. I don't think a puked as much through all my pregnancies as I did that night." Rayna put her hands over her face.

"Getting back on track. MJ did very well with this album cover. That is one talented kid." Glenn got them back on target.

"We had a lotta fun on that photo shoot. We did it out at the house." Deacon replied.

"Babe, I don't know about you, but I'm incredibly proud of this album. You got it all done quickly." Rayna praised him.

"I had nothin' else to do. I couldn't move hell I could barely breathe without bein' in pain. The only thing I could do was write. I was sleepin' in a damn recliner cause I couldn't lay flat on my back. You wouldn't believe the ideas that you get when you can't sleep and you can't get up to pace the floor like usual." Deacon played off her praise like usual. He just didn't have it in him to not be modest.

"This is why you're the talent scout and President of Artist Relations and Communications." Tandy was being nice to him without actually saying the words.

"That's as made up as Rayna's Senior Artist Advisory Panel." Juliette pointed out to her.

"President of Artist Relations and Communications is the head of the Senior Artist Advisory Panel." Rayna shot back without missing a beat.

"You really did just make that up." Sadie laughed.

"I just made up my Senior Artist Advisory Panel this mornin' while I waited for the four-year-old to use the bathroom for the fiftieth time." Rayna admitted.

"I made up Deacon's position when I started having him do Deacon work. Glenn is President of Diva Control and Pacification. Everyone around here has a title." Tandy explained.

"Everyone has a title for shit you don't wanna deal with. I'm also CEO of keepin' the CEO in a good mood." Deacon drummed his fingers on the table.

"You're my damn husband." Rayna glared at him.

"Which is why he's CEO of keeping the CEO in a good mood." Tandy pointed out to her.

"Deacon, you're in violation of the professional conduct rule. That'll be fifty bucks." Avery held his hand out.

"What the hell are you talkin' 'bout, Avery? I didn't do anythin'." Deacon looked at him confused.

"You said shit." Avery pointed out to him.

"That doesn't count this is an inter-office meetin'. If we were meetin' with other people I'd pay the toll, but no way in hell do I pay the toll for sayin' shit." Deacon slapped his hand.

"What's that all about?" Bucky looked between them.

"The Wayward Musicians and I have these rules of professional conduct. They're not really rules so much as they are challenges. No cussin' in meetings failure to comply with that rule results in a fine. Overuse of the phrase Texas forever is penalized by havin' to buy food. Excessive use of sexual innuendos a thirty minute talkin' ban is imposed and a fine has to be paid." Deacon explained.

"Cussing would be you, Texas forever is Jimmy and Will, and the last one can only be Casey." Rayna listed off.

"I'm not the only one with a potty mouth. That rule was not put in the bylaws especially for me. That was for my sister-in-law." Deacon pointed at Sadie.

"Guilty as charged." Sadie admitted.

"Again allow me to get us back on track. Deacon, you've got this album, you're gonna need a tour." Glenn pointed out.

"Glenn is right. This album is amazing, but it really does no good without a tour. And this is where I get worked heaped on me." Bucky toyed with his pen.

"Buck, I'll get with you later and explain what's goin' on with that. We talked a little about it already." Rayna replied.

"Next thing we need to do is pick a single and release it as soon as possible." Bucky went on.

"Mistress Named Music or Knives of New Orleans. Those are my choices." Tandy made her thoughts known.

"Since I'm on the Senior Artist Advisory Panel I have to go with Mistress Named Music. There is no way that you're gonna go wrong with that song." Juliette offered.

"I second that." Sadie agreed.

"And I third it." Avery raised his hand.

"We are all in agreement then. That's the song we will go with as soon as possible." Bucky made a note.

"If that is all we have to take care of today I'm gonna take off early. I'm gonna head up to the cabin and do some fishin'. I need some time to decompress." Deacon stood up.

"Go throw your brother's lazy ass outta bed and take him with you. I'm tired of seein' his face and he's only been home a few days." Sadie told him.

"Why is he home? And is Wyatt home with him?" Deacon asked.

"He has a deep tissue bruise. Lamar heard about it and he made him come home to get some rest. I may or may not whisper in his ear about retiring while he's sleeping. And Wy is at preschool. He actually goes because I get a couple hours of free time while he's gone. I need that time to myself." Sadie poked fun at Rayna's inability to drop Jack off at preschool.

"The reason that I don't always send Jack to preschool when it's my day to drop him off is because he calms me down. I have a stressful job and havin' him to talk to makes it easier." Rayna defended herself.

"Tell yourself whatever you have to, to feel better." Sadie laughed at her.

"Buck, you wanna cut out early with me?" Deacon offered.

"No, I've got a ton of work to get through. Unlike your president title mine actually comes with work that has to get done." Bucky shuffled some papers around.

"Buck, give me the papers. I'll take care of it. You need some time off. Go drown a worm with Deacon and Rhett." Rayna took the papers from him.

"Alright, I'm in. There's worse ways to spend the day than being stuck in a boat with the Claybourne brothers. These two at least don't have sword fights when they're peeing or even worse put tape on the bathroom floor and try to hit the toilet from that distance." Bucky shrugged his shoulders.

"My boys are competitive they can't help themselves." Deacon laughed.

"Boys are so gross and I wasn't prepared at all for this." Rayna shook her head.

* * *

"Damn it, Deacon, come on. Try to keep the boat straight, son. I've got perfect castin' real estate and you are lettin' the boat go all over the place." Rhett bitched from the back of Deacon's bass boat.

"Hey, your highness, would you rather come up here and work the trollin' motor? Just cause you're some baseball stud now don't mean you ain't still my baby brother. I don't take orders from you." Deacon shot back.

"I'm surrounded by bickering siblings. I thought that it didn't get worse than Tandy and Ray, but you two run a close second." Bucky muttered.

"Rhett, give Bucky a beer outta your cooler he's earned it. That boy is wound up tighter than an eight-day clock." Deacon threw his lure on the edge of the weeds. "There's bound to be a big hog layin' on the edge of them weeds."

Rhett took a beer out of the cooler and handed it to Bucky. "There you go, my man. Anyone who can put up with the redheaded dragon sisters every day deserves a drink or two." He casted his line out. "Look at that log right there. I bet there's a large mouth under there."

Bucky cracked his beer open and took a long swallow from it. "They are both a handful to deal with in their own ways. At least with Rayna I can send Deacon in to do my dirty work. I deal with the big sister at home and at the office. She's far worse than the little sister could ever dream of being." He threw his line out in the water.

"The little sister has her moments too." Deacon made another cast. "Rhett, root beer me."

"On it," Rhett took a bottle out of the cooler and tossed it to him.

Deacon caught it with one hand. "Thank ya, much." He twisted the cap off the top and threw it in the bottom of the boat.

"I'm starting to have flashbacks to the nineties with the glass bottles flying around." Bucky quipped.

"This isn't exactly the same. Those glass bottles were empty. We didn't waste alcohol in those days." Deacon chuckled.

"No, the hotel bills would have been cheaper if you had. The more you drank from the minibar the more you and Vince tore up." Bucky muttered.

"Alright, Buck, you need to spill. I haven't known ya as long as my big brother has, but in all the time I have known ya I've seen you deal with some real shit bein' heaped on ya and you've never been this wound up. So, what's wrong with ya?" Rhett called him out on his attitude.

"I'm gonna tell you two something, but you can't tell any of our wives." Bucky sighed.

"Buck, it's bro code what's said on the boat stays on the boat." Deacon assured him.

"I went for my yearly checkup the other day and my doctor thinks that I might have prostate cancer. I had the tests done and I'm waiting for the results. It just has me thinking about my life and what I'm doing with it. My stress levels are through the roof I now have to be on high blood pressure medication and what for? I always thought that I'd have something more to show for my life. Maybe a couple of kids or running my own successful management firm. I mean my biggest and best client has made me a boatload of money, but still I thought I'd have more." Bucky answered.

"Oh, Buck, I'm sorry, man. You shoulda said somethin' to me. We are family you shouldn't be goin' through this alone. Whatever you need you know that I'm here. You have made an impact with your life. You took this little unknown girl and you turned her into a country music superstar. You are the president of a highly successful record label that has almost tanked more than once. You don't have any kids of your own, but my children are extremely lucky to have you in their lives. I don't know what any of us would do without you. You let me know as soon as those test results come in." Deacon spoke from his heart.

"Buck, you're the man who makes shit happen. You hooked me up with my sports' agent and you handled everythin' for me before I had an agent. I know a thing or two 'bout cancer and if you need someone to talk to I'm more than happy to listen." Rhett reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

"I appreciate it, guys. I just don't wanna tell Tandy until I know for sure. She will just do that thing that she does where she goes overboard. She'll change my diet and call in all kinda specialists. I don't want that until I know it's warranted." Bucky sighed.

"We've got your back. I mean I know if Ray found out she would pull out all the stops to get you better too." Deacon replied.

Rhett reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out three cigars. "Can I offer you gentlemen a cigar?" He unwrapped one and held it between his teeth.

"Hell yeah, toss me one of those." Deacon held out his hand.

Rhett tossed him a cigar. "There you are." He held the other one out to Bucky. "Bucky?"

"What the hell? It's not gonna do anymore damage." Bucky took the cigar from him.

Deacon took a lighter out of his tackle box and lit his cigar. "Here, Buck." He passed the lighter over to him.

"Thank you," Bucky lit up.

"How long do you think we have before the girls start to miss us?" Rhett asked after he lit his cigar.

"I figure that we have all afternoon and when there is real cookin' to be done they will call and make us come in. Or hell they might have a wine party without us and forget all 'bout dinner." Deacon answered him.

"The wine is a given. That's gonna happen either way." Rhett snorted.

"In that case let's see how many fish we can catch before they call us." Bucky suggested.

"I'm down for that and I'm down for emptyin' this cooler full of beer. Buck, I'm gonna need some help with that." Rhett threw his empty beer bottle in the bottom of the boat and opened another one.

"Rhett, what exactly are you even doin' home from trainin' right now?" Deacon took his sunglasses off and looked at his brother.

"Well, I have a deep tissue bruise on my hip. I can play through the pain, but Lamar saw it and refused to let me play on it." Rhett stood up and lowered his jeans just enough to expose a deep purple bruise on his hip. "It ain't that bad. I feel like some damn pussy not playin' on it."

"Not that bad? Not that bad! That shit looks horrible." Deacon's jaw hung open.

"What did you do?" Bucky asked him.

"Officially I hit the wall in center field. Unofficially I got drunk and ran into the dresser in the hotel room." Rhett shrugged his shoulders.

"You didn't get that by runnin' into no dresser and hittin' the corner of it. I know drunken injuries and I know a thing or two 'bout fights. That's how you get a bruise like that." Deacon called him on his bullshit.

"Alright, so let's say that there's this little twenty-two year old relief pitcher with a bad attitude and a big mouth and let's say that spring trainin' is like a frat party. Let's say that some of the older guys and I were hazin' the hell outta these new kids and he took a swing at me so it was on. I got rammed into the sharp edge of the dresser and the little punk took punched me in the ribs. I beat the livin' shit outta him." Rhett reported.

"Well, you finally grew into your Claybourne genes." Bucky snorted.

"Is that all ya'll do when you ain't playin' ball?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, we party nonstop. Like you have any room to talk I've been on tour with musicians before. I once watched Jimmy drink for eight hours straight." Rhett adjusted his hat on his head.

"Amateur, we once went on a three-day binge." Deacon laughed. "Actually, that's not funny. I think Vince and I both ended up in the hospital that time."

"You would need to be more specific about which time. There are a few times that I can remember that happening." Bucky pointed out to him.

"Bucky, I will throw a short, sick, bald man overboard and make him swim to shore." Deacon joked with him.

"On my wife's desk there is a stack of paperwork about two inches thick that she has been trying to pawn off on someone else. I can very easily arrange for that to become Deacon work and I know how much you hate paperwork." Bucky countered.

"Accordin' to Tandy all meaningless paperwork is Deacon work." Deacon rolled his eyes and threw his empty root beer bottle on the floor. "Rhett, root beer me again."

Rhett tossed him another one.

"Sometimes she digs up work for you to do. She lives to mess with you." Bucky cast his rod again.

"Oh shit, Deacon, toss that back. I gave you an actual beer." Rhett caught the bottle effortlessly and threw Deacon the right bottle.

"That's more better. I can't be slippin' off the wagon cause you're too drunk to read." Deacon took a drink of his soda and made another cast.

"I'm stoned on pain pills too. This bruise really fuckin' hurts. Why do you think I made you drive me up here?" Rhett admitted.

"Yeah, that'll do it. I was on those things after my surgery and they would knock me for a loop." Deacon scrunched up his forehead.

"Deacon, why don't you guide the boat over to that point right there? It looks like that might be a good spot." Bucky pointed to the spot he was talking about.

"That is one of my favorite spots on this stretch of water. For that point we need to switch out rods. You gotta fish a worm rig." Deacon switched out his rod and reel for another one.

"I've got just the worm for that point." Rhett grabbed his tackle box and took a plastic worm out of it.

"Here, Buck." Deacon gave Bucky another fishing pole.

"Thanks," Bucky took the fishing pole from him with a smile.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	52. Chapter 52

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 52

"What in God's name did you two do to Bucky?" Rayna stood on the dock with one hand on her hip and a glass of wine in the other hand. She watched Deacon and Rhett help Bucky out of the boat.

"We took Bucky fishin'." Rhett announced loudly.

"It looks like the only thing ya'll caught was beer and sunburn." Sadie observed.

"Paul Jr. caught a bottle of rye and a bottle of bourbon with a root beer chaser. Until I taught him how to appropriately mix a boat drink." Deacon retorted.

"Hey, don't call me that." Rhett protested.

"How do you appropriately mix a boat drink?" Tandy asked.

"Apparently, it involves Deacon chugging half a bottle of beer and then pouring bourbon and rye into the bottle." Bucky volunteered.

"Deacon John!" Rayna yelled at him.

"Root beer, babe, root beer. Rhett gave Bucky a bourbon and rye with a beer chaser. Granted I gave him the idea. I ain't drank in so that I probably woulda puked and fallen overboard." Deacon calmed her down.

"Did ya'll actually catch any fish?" Sadie looked between them.

"Deacon was hopin' that you'd ask that." Rhett and Bucky walked up the dock together stumbling.

Deacon opened the live well and he lifted a ten-pound bass out. "I got a new mount for the wall."

"What you put in your den is your business as long as it doesn't end up in my bedroom or my livin' room." Rayna told him.

"Fair enough. I need my filet knife from the house. We caught some other fish that have to be cleaned. I wanna do that before dinner." Deacon pulled a stringer of fish up from over the side of the boat.

"Do you have to do that before dinner? Can't you just throw them back?" Rayna made a face.

"I don't have to do it before dinner, but I have to do it. I ain't throwin' these out. I can get some really nice filets off of 'em." Deacon retorted.

"I'll filet the damn things for ya." Rhett offered.

"No, you won't. I don't want you messin' around with a filet knife with as drunk as you are. I let you cut off a finger Lamar will not be happy. He'd probably have you locked up in a padded room if he knew that you were fishin'. You might do somethin' to your elbow." Sadie rolled her eyes.

"He does not own me just 'cause he thinks he does. My elbow is in prime condition." Rhett retorted.

"Rhett, have you met my father?" Tandy gave him a look.

"Yeah, daddy thinks he can tell everyone what to do." Rayna agreed with her sister.

"I do know what he's like 'cept right now I got Jeff runnin' interference for me cause I'm holdin' somethin' over his head." Rhett clamped his hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd said.

"I know what you're talkin' 'bout. I wanna know how you know." Deacon looked at him.

"Maddie, tells Mack everythin' and then Mack tells me things that I rather not know. And if it makes you feel any better I held him up against the wall by his throat and threatened him within an inch of his life." Rhett informed him.

"You are such a good uncle." Deacon patted his back. That statement also got the wheels in his head turning.

"Babe, do you wanna start a fire in the pit and then set the table up?" Rayna pecked Deacon's lips.

"I'll start the fire and set up the table if you go clean the trash outta the bottom of my boat." Deacon bargained with her.

"You can clean your boat out when you clean those fish later." Rayna winked.

"You are so damn mean to me. I'd do this for you." Deacon bumped her hip with his.

"I'm letting you have a fish mounted and put up on my wall. I think that's bein' nice enough to you for one day." Rayna rubbed her nose against his.

"Hey, drunk, go clean out the bottom of my boat." Deacon ordered Rhett.

"Fair enough I'm on it." Rhett stumbled back towards the dock.

"Rhett, sit down before you fall down." Sadie grabbed him by the arm and sat him down.

"Sadie, come help me get the food and Tandy can get the wine." Rayna got everyone moving.

Deacon sat up the table and chairs once he got the fire started. "There we go."

"What exactly did these women cook up?" Rhett found another beer and cracked it open.

"I'm pretty sure that they made a salad and I'm gonna have to fire up the grill." Deacon replied.

"If we are lucky they made a salad. They have the wine out. In my experience nothing happens once the wine comes out." Bucky muttered.

"The wine comes out and they get to talkin' 'bout us. Nothin' else is gettin' done." Rhett agreed.

"Deacon! Come get this food on the grill please. I love you." Rayna smiled sweetly at her husband.

"Of course, babe. I love you too." Deacon said through clenched teeth.

"Rhett Timothy, I think you've had enough." Sadie scolded her husband for drinking.

"I don't think I've had enough to drink yet." Rhett argued back with her.

"Oh, look, Tandy has the wine that shouldn't surprise me." Bucky rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what your deal is, but you have been a total crab ass. Normally nothing any of us do or say gets to you. Bucky, you are so high strung lately." Tandy gave him a dirty look.

"Even I have bad days." Bucky shrugged his shoulders.

"Rhett, come give me a hand." Deacon gestured his brother over to the grill.

Rhett stumbled over to him. "What do you need?"

"Look, I know that we promised Buck we wouldn't say anythin', but he needs help. I don't break my promises. Here's the thing if Maddie tells Mack everythin' then the reverse is also true. So, you're gonna tell Mack who is gonna tell Maddie who will go straight to her momma with that news." Deacon outlined for him.

"You have no damn idea. Maddie and Casey run their mouths to Mack 'bout everythin' they know and he does the same with them. If I don't want Sadie to know somethin' I don't tell Jimmy cause he tells Will and Will talks to my wife it's like they are all a bunch of women or somethin'." Rhett whispered back.

"So, are you in or what?" Deacon asked him.

"I've got your back, big brother. We are gonna help him against his will." Rhett bumped knuckles with him.

* * *

"Maddie, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?" Rayna looked up from her computer.

"How'd you know it was me without looking up?" Maddie perched herself on the edge of her desk.

"I'm your mother I know what you sound like when you walk into a room." Rayna leaned back in her chair.

"Well, that's a little unsettling. I came by to see Uncle Bucky about my Opry induction concert and he said that you're handling it now. I'm surprised he's in the office at all." Maddie replied.

"I am handling your Opry induction and Jimmy's. I thought that he needed a little bit of a break. I halfway expected him to call in today. Him and Rhett got pretty wasted last night. That's the drunkest I've ever seen him and I've known him a long time." Rayna responded.

"All things considered I don't really blame him. I'm surprised that you and Aunt Tandy are even letting him come into the office at all right now." Maddie had no clue that her mother didn't know the information that she had.

"Maddie, what in the world are you talkin' 'bout?" Rayna looked at her confused.

"I was talking to Mack and he said that Uncle Bucky may have cancer. I didn't know what he was talking about that's the first I've heard of it." Maddie clarified for her.

"That's the first I've heard of it too. I can promise you that I'm gonna get to the bottom of it though. You stay right here." Rayna stood up and marched out of her office. "Tandy, Bucky, Deacon, conference room now! Emergency executive meeting!" She walked into the conference room and sat down at the head of the table.

Deacon, Tandy, and Bucky walked into the room. Deacon sat on the other end of the table and Bucky and Tandy sat on either side.

"Alright, we need to have a talk. We all know that this label is at its best when the four of us are in sync. For the four of us to be in sync we have to be completely honest with each other. We are a family here and we can tell each other anythin'. Secrets are like a cancer to us because of the position we are in. I'm the wife of an alcoholic I know a thing or two about how toxic secrets can be. Deacon, how does that saying go?" Rayna blasted out of the gate.

"You're only as sick as your secrets." Deacon supplied for her.

"Deacon," Bucky said the other man's name in a warning tone.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tandy looked at her sister like she had lost her mind.

"Ask your husband." Rayna looked hard at Bucky. "Buck, why didn't you tell me that you were sick? You are more than my manager or my head of A and R you are my brother. You've seen me at me worst and you have dealt with everythin' that my crazy, chaotic life has thrown at you. You are my closest confidant. You know things about me that not even my sister knows about. I would like to think that that is a two-way street. You can tell me things too."

"Ray, you have a lot on your plate. You don't need anything else to worry about. I didn't know anything for sure until this morning anyway." Bucky replied. "Deacon, you promised me that you wouldn't say anything."

"I didn't." Deacon swore to him. He wasn't exactly lying.

"He didn't I heard it from Maddie." Rayna backed her husband up.

"Bucky, what is she talking about?" Tandy asked him.

"Tandy, I have prostate cancer. It's in the early stages and I'm gonna be ok. I didn't want to tell you and have you worry before I knew there was something for you to worry about. You would have just made yourself crazy and made it harder on me in the process. I wanted to have facts and a plan before I told you." Bucky wrung his hands.

"Oh, babe, I'm right here. I know that I'm gonna drive you a little crazy with my Type A approach to this, but it's because I want to keep you with me. We are gonna get through this together." Tandy walked over to the other side of the table and put her arms around him.

"I'm gonna make some calls. I am gonna get you the best medical care that money can buy. I'm also gonna take on your work load for a little while. You have about thirty years of vacation days that you've never used. Tandy has a stockpile of unused vacation days. I want you two to at least take a couple weeks to just relax." Rayna was already scrolling through the list of contacts in her phone.

"You really don't need to do that. I can still do my job. I will need something to do with my time. I still have to have more tests and things done. I'm taking this very seriously, but I'm not gonna roll over and play dead either. I'm not putting my life on hold." Bucky argued with her.

"I really do need to do it. Your job will always be here waiting for you. I can't do this without any of the three of you in this room with me right now. You're without a doubt the most important of the three. One of them knows where the bodies are buried and one of them knows the full extent of all my sins. You're the only one who knows both. I wouldn't be the artist I am without Deacon, I would have probably crashed and burned miserably at business without my sister to guide me, but I wouldn't still be standing without you, Buck. You've cleared up every mess I've ever made and never once have you threatened to quit on me. You clean up the messes that my girls make. I'm not quitting on you." Rayna wasn't about to back down from him.

"You are just gonna have to suck it up and deal with it, babe. You have all of our full support whether you want it or not. You have all of our concern. I know that you're used to the one taking care of everyone. This time you have to let us take care of you." Tandy hugged him tighter.

"Buck, you're not gonna win this one. You have two women who are forces of nature who love you deeply and are gonna take care of ya. They have taken care of me every time that I've needed it and one of them doesn't even like me. They both adore you. Imagine the kind of care that you're gonna get. Over the years I've really made you earn your pay check. You cleaned up the messes I made when I was drinkin'. You kept me outta jail, you got me into the best rehabs possible, you kept tabs on me even when I wasn't with Ray, and you've loaned me money. I promise you right here and now whatever you need or want while you're goin' through this I'm here for you." Deacon spoke up.

"I know that and I really appreciate it. I am gonna be ok. I'm gonna fight this and I plan on winning. In the meantime, I don't want to put my life on hold. I have two loves Tandy and this job. If I didn't have this job to come to everyday I'm pretty sure that if I had to sit in the house every day I'd go crazy. I'd start ordering stuff off infomercials or I'd gain fifty pounds from hanging out at the Mile Marker." Bucky put on a brave face for everyone.

"The one good thing 'bout this situation is you're gonna be able to leverage a lot of sympathy food from my momma." Deacon tried to lighten the mood a little bit.

"That's where the fifty pounds I'd gain are gonna come from." Bucky laughed a little.

"Tandy, let's you and me go back to my office. We are gonna make a phone call to my doctor. He knows everyone. Bucky can get Deacon up to speed about what's on his plate. Since those two work so closely together it makes the most sense for him to take on the duties associated with A and R. We can split the rest of his duties. He's a firefighter that way and we can take care of that." Rayna launched right into her plan of attack.

"Before you and I get to calling doctors there's something that I need to take care of. There's no way that you can do my job. You're extremely smart and capable, but you can't do what I do. I'm gonna make a call and get you a temporary replacement for me. I have just the person for the job and it's gonna take a little wrangling for me to get what I want." Tandy replied.

"Alright, I'll meet you in my office in say thirty minutes then?" Rayna suggested.

"That works for me." Tandy agreed.

Rayna squeezed Bucky's shoulder and kissed the top of his head. "Don't worry about anythin' you're in good hands."

"I know I am." Bucky smiled up at her. "I'd really like to know how Maddie found out though."

"She said that Mack told her. I don't know how Mack would have found out." Rayna replied.

"Which, means that Rhett told Mack. That's typically how those things work. Mack, Maddie, and Casey run in a circle together. And since I told Rhett and Deacon yesterday that makes sense. Rhett and Mack also tell each other everything. It's like dealing with high school kids. That's part of my job. I have to check in on all of them and make sure that they are staying out of trouble. Our other artists I don't have to watch that closely, but Maddie, Daphne, Sadie, Jimmy, Will, Scarlett, Gunnar, Juliette, and Avery are all either family or practically family. You have to keep a special eye on them because of how their actions can reflect on Ray." Bucky rambled a little.

"Buck, relax I can take care of it." Deacon assured him.

"That's pretty much right on the money. I don't tell Maddie things that I don't want Will to know because of how tight her and Mack are. Though it's still better than telling your wife anything because she's the mouth of the south." Rayna nodded in agreement.

"Buck, let's step into my office and go over what I need to know." Deacon suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be good." Bucky agreed.

Deacon looped his arm around Bucky's shoulders and led him out of the room.

Tandy looked at her sister and her eyes filled up with tears. "I waited a long time for him, Babe, I can't lose him now."

Rayna held her arms open to her. "Come here, you need to let me be the strong one for you this time."

Tandy let her sister take her into her arms and she broke down crying. "He has to be ok. I depend on him for so much more than he realizes."

"I know, we all do. We are gonna do everythin' in our power to make sure that he beats this thing. He is so strong, Babe. He's gonna be ok." Rayna hugged her tightly and let her have her break down. "Let me be strong for you for a change."

* * *

"Ya'll are at it kinda early ain't ya?" Rhett shuffled into Sadie's music room still in his pajamas. She and Paul were working on a song for her album.

"No, you slept in today. You're kinda late. It's after noon, babe." Sadie replied.

"I was tired." Rhett rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"From the sound of it you're hungover, boy." Paul observed.

"You would know what that's like wouldn't ya?" Rhett shot back. His father got under his skin like no one else on the planet.

"No I wouldn't I never stopped drinkin' long enough to get a hangover. Or I would black out so long that when I woke up I'd be evened out and good to start over again." Paul answered.

"It sounds like you figured out a real winnin' formula." Rhett snorted.

Sadie stepped in before the two of them could get really heated. "Rhett, you got a delivery this mornin'. I had 'em leave it in the garage for you."

"Oh, I've been waitin' for that since I ordered it the other day. That got here faster than I thought it would. I'm excited for this." Rhett rubbed his hands together.

"I don't wanna know so I won't ask." Sadie shook her head.

"I'll be out in the garage if you need me, but try not to need me. I'm gonna be kinda busy." Rhett headed out to the garage.

"I don't know, 'bout you, but I think he's startin' to warm up to me." Paul grinned.

"You really enjoy riling him up. It's gonna get you knocked on your ass." Sadie rolled her eyes.

"I'm not as old or as fragile as I look. I could take him." Paul laughed softly.

"I'm sure that he would love the chance." Sadie grunted. "Let's get on with writin' this song."

An hour later Paul stepped outside to take a smoke break. He lit up and then walked around to the garage when he heard Rhett cuss loudly.

There was an open crate sitting out in the middle of the floor. Rhett sat astride a Harley from the 1960s. The only problem was he couldn't get it to start.

"This motherfucker," He grumbled.

"Havin' a problem, son?" Paul asked.

"I ain't your damn son, Paul." Rhett tried to get the bike to start again.

"I used to have one like this. Where'd you get it?" Paul looked the bike over. He ignored the younger man's attitude.

"I got it from some collector. He never even rode the thing he just kept it in his showroom." Rhett replied.

"That's the issue then. There are probably all kinda preservatives in the fuel tank, the fuel line, and the carburetor. That stuff gunks up everythin'. I know how to get this thing started. The fuel tank, the fuel line, and the carburetor need to be cleaned out. I wouldn't imagine that you have any tools 'round here. If you run out to the truck for me my toolbox is in there. I'm also gonna need some gas, probably a new fuel line to be on the safe side, and some matches." Paul listed off.

"Do I look like your slave?" Rhett flashed him a dirty look.

"No, you look like my son. But now that you mention it you kinda do resemble a slave that would fetch a high price at the market. With us bein' Mississippi boys it's possible for you to be both." Paul gave back as good as he got.

"You seem like one of those skeevy slave owners that would be tappin' his slaves. With you that wouldn't surprise me at all." Rhett snorted.

"You really have a smartass mouth. I know that you have a low opinion of me. That bein' said if you wanna get that bike runnin' go get my toolbox for me. It's heavy and I'm old." Paul retorted.

"I'll get it." Rhett retrieved his toolbox and came back. "I don't know what you're gonna be able to do 'bout this, but have at it. I will probably just have to call a mechanic and take it to the shop." He sat the toolbox down on the floor.

"You don't have to call a mechanic. You have one right here." Paul pointed to himself.

"That's right you used to be a mechanic. If you think you can do any good give it a try. I just thought that you ain't done that kinda work in a long time." Rhett leaned up against the side of Sadie's SUV.

"I do this kinda work all the time. And it's like ridin' a bike I could never forget. I'm kinda the go to guy in this city for these old pieces of machinery. DJ knows a guy who runs a shop and I sometimes help him out when he's got this old stuff. It's a lost art. Everythin' on this new stuff is computerized and they never learned to do things the old-fashioned way." Paul opened his toolbox and took a wrench out.

"You really are old school. You've got the cigarette hangin' outta your mouth and the flannel shirt. The only thing missin' is the beer can sittin' next to your tool box." Rhett watched him work.

"Back in the old days there would have been. If I thought that I could drink without bein' a mean son of bitch and I didn't wanna wreck the liver your brother gave me I'd still be drinkin' today." Paul took a drag off his cigarette without taking it out of his mouth. He loosened up the bolts that held the tank onto the bike frame. "Come give me a hand with this."

"And do what with it?" Rhett walked over.

"That's right I didn't teach you this stuff the way I did with DJ. It's never too late to learn. Go on and slide that tank off. Disconnect the fuel line first." Paul showed him what to do.

"I got it. Now what?" Rhett moved the tank to the floor.

"Now you get me that gas that I asked you for. Come on act like you know how to work with your hands. I know that your momma saw fit that you got a good education so you didn't have to really work with your hands, but you're strong. Move that thing like I'm your father and Lamar Wyatt." Paul picked up a gas can and poured a little of it in the tank.

"First of all, I worked down on the docks back in Natchez. I offloaded all kinda cargo. Secondly, Lamar has treated me more like a son than you ever have. You got a problem with me bein' close to him you keep it to yourself it's your damn fault for never bein' there." Rhett argued with him, but he didn't take his eyes off of what he was doing.

"I know I wasn't there. I know that I didn't raise you or have anythin' to do with ya. I've been tryin' for the last ten years, though. You're the one who won't let me in. I ignored you, but I beat the livin' shit outta your brother every time he looked up. He found a way to let me back in and forgive me. You're a stronger man for not havin' had me in your life when you were growin' up. I was toxic and I can admit that. Still, like it or not I am your father. It's my last name that you have and it's my blood in your veins." Paul lit a match and dropped it in the gas tank.

"Are you fuckin' crazy, old man? What the hell was that?" Rhett jumped back. "And I know you're my father. The whole time I was growin' up the only thing I wanted was to know ya. It's pretty damn hard to be a biracial boy in Mississippi without a daddy in the picture."

"I ain't crazy that's how you clean the preservative out and keep it from gummin' up the works again. Once the gas burns off the preservative will be gone. It's basically what the manuals tell ya not to do 'cause it's too dangerous. It's how we used to clean the gunk off of the brand new rifle shipments we'd get in Vietnam. It was a damn miracle that we didn't blow ourselves up. One of our sergeants was a world war two hold over that taught us how to do things the old way. It's pretty damn effective." Paul waited for the fire to burn out and then he examined the gas tank. "That's clean. You think havin' no daddy was hard try bein' the son of Deacon Claybourne. That man was revered in that town. I was his scapegrace namesake who could never get out from under his shadow no matter how hard I tried. The only reason I got so many chances in that town was because I'm his son."

"Damn, I guess you do know what you're talkin' 'bout here. I didn't know that you were in Vietnam." Rhett looked impressed. "He was a good man. I met him a couple times. Apparently, he knew 'bout me too. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just thought he was a friend of my momma's."

"There's a lot that you don't know 'bout me. All you have to do is ask if you wanna know. It's gonna take me a little while to fix this issue. Time passes faster if I talk and work at the same time." Paul retorted.

"Ain't Sadie gonna get mad at you for runnin' out on her in the middle of a writin' session?" Rhett picked up his father's pack of cigarettes and shook one out.

"Nah, she'll be relieved. I push her pretty hard durin' our sessions." Paul chuckled.

"Work away then, Master Jefferson." Rhett made another one of his mater/slave relationship jokes. He picked up a lighter and started to light the cigarette.

"That's the last time you make a damn Thomas Jefferson reference. As a man who lived through the civil rights movement in Mississippi I find that offensive. And have you lost your damn mind? You're an athlete you know better than to put that shit in your body it's poison." Paul took the cigarette away from him.

"Fine I'll come up with a new joke. Take all my fun away from me then." Rhett sighed.

"Get in here and learn somethin'. If you're gonna stand and watch you're gonna learn to do." Paul waved him over.

"Show me what to do." Rhett walked over and stared at the bike.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	53. Chapter 53

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The song used in this chapter is Monday Morning Church by Alan Jackson.

* * *

Chapter 53

Will, Mack, JC, Maddie, Scarlett, Gunnar, Avery, and Juliette all sat around Scarlett and Gunnar's living room.

"We really should try to do our little reunion dinners more often. This is one of those rare times when we are all in the same place at once." Maddie commented.

"The last couple of years we have been pretty tour heavy and we haven't gotten to connect like we used to in the old days." Avery agreed with her.

"Will and I are lucky to be in the same city right now. Our schedules have been absolutely crazy for the last few years." Mack sipped his beer.

"I'm just happy to be in the country right now. I know it took me a month to wash all the sand off of me. I had sand on my damn ball sack." JC downed his beer quickly and opened another one.

"Over the last two years Jase and Ry have spent so much time with June while we were on the road that I'm surprised they even remember what we look like. We had a heavy touring schedule before they started school and it took awhile to phase that out." Gunnar replied.

"My tour schedule is always crazy all the time. My kids are so used to me bein' gone that they don't know how to act when I'm home. And God knows if Avery goes on tour and leaves them with me I have an uprisin' on my hands. They like him better than they like me. Or at least they know he has his act together." Juliette snorted.

"I know that mine like their dada better he's the fun one. I actually make 'em behave. I also make 'em ride on a bus for far longer than they want to." Will nursed his beer.

"Don't feel bad, Will. I know that mine like Gunnar better. He gets into whatever messes they wanna get into with 'em. I'm the adult." Scarlett sipped her wine.

"Speaking of touring schedules, we need to get our tour set up now." Avery addressed Scarlett and Gunnar.

"Good luck with that one. Didn't you get the email? Rayna is handling that for the time being and according to her schedule she has no time at all unless we wanna ambush her at home. Which, I don't like to do unless it's an emergency. Deacon has a lot of guns in that house and I don't trust him not to shoot me. Plus, as scary as he is I got the ass chewing of the lifetime from her the last time she came home and I was sitting on the side patio waiting for her." Gunnar shook his head.

"Why is Rayna handlin' that? Bucky always handles that stuff. He handles it and he keeps us out of her hair." Juliette looked confused.

"You didn't hear?" Mack asked.

"Hear what?" Avery asked.

"Uncle Bucky has cancer. Mom ordered him to take two weeks of mandatory vacation at the very least. I don't think she or Aunt Tandy are gonna let him back into that office until he's in remission or until he's far enough along in his treatments to be getting well. And I don't think he told anyone else. When I went into the office today to talk to mom she had no idea what I was talking about." Maddie answered.

"I would have thought that Rayna and Tandy would have known at least. Rhett knew that's who told me." Mack looked a little confused.

"That means Uncle Buck told Deacon and Rhett and told them not to tell Rayna and Tandy. They got around that by tellin' Mack who everyone knows tells Maddie and Casey everythin'." JC laid out for them.

"That sounds 'bout right, brother. Where is Casey tonight anyway?" Will looked around.

"She's bringing dinner and Daph. They were both in the studio together. They should be here any minute." Maddie replied.

Right on cue Casey and Daphne walked in the front door together.

"Miller, where's the damn food? You were supposed to bring it." JC demanded.

"I ordered it ten minutes ago it'll be here soon. I didn't want to lug food all the way back here. It would have been cold by the time I got here. I used my brain for once." Casey flipped him off.

"You guys, what are we gonna do for Bucky? If this label is a family Rayna and Deacon are without a doubt the sometimes dysfunctional parents, but Bucky is like the kindly uncle that everyone has. He takes care of everythin' for us and we very rarely say thank you. We have to do somethin' to show him that we are behind him." Juliette asked.

"What's goin' on with Bucky? He doesn't really have cancer does he?" Casey was in the loop because she'd talked to Maddie and Mack.

"He does." Maddie confirmed.

"How is he? How is Aunt Tandy? Maddie, should we be with them right now?" Daphne freaked out a little bit.

"He's fine. She's a little bit of wreck. I don't think I've ever seen her this rattled. I offered to cancel tonight and have both of us be home with all of them for family time, but they all told me no. Uncle Bucky said that he would be very unhappy if we canceled on Wayward Musicians reunion on account of him. He said that it would give him some peace of mind to know that we are all together and we are staying out of trouble." Maddie reassured her.

"Juliette made a pretty good point a minute ago. We do need to do somethin' for Bucky. He does so much for us to make our lives easy and we take him for granted." Scarlett jumped on Juliette's thought train.

"Actually, this isn't as big a problem as we think it is. This is what I have Glenn for. He's really close to Bucky. He works with him at the label and they have known each other for years." Juliette replied.

"So, we will ask Glenn what he likes? That's your idea?" Avery made a face.

"You know what? I have an idea. Juliette, I'm gonna have to borrow Glenn and Emily for this. It's a big job and I need a good team." Maddie told them.

"I keep tellin' you to get yourself a Glenn and an Emily. Of course, you can borrow them. Just let me in on the plan when you're ready." Juliette answered without hesitation.

"When you have Rayna Jaymes for a mother you don't need a Glenn. She is pretty much my manager. She takes care of everything and I don't ask questions, because I don't want to deal with it myself." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't care 'bout anythin' right now I just wanna eat." JC groaned.

"You know those kids are bein' entirely too quiet right now. Someone should probably go upstairs and see what they're up to." Scarlett looked a little concerned.

"I'll go check on 'em. They won't get all bent outta shape if it's Uncle Jimmy checkin' up on 'em. They like me cause I play games with 'em." JC went upstairs to check on the kids.

"He's gonna make such a good dad." Avery observed.

"I know I got one of the good ones." Maddie smiled.

* * *

"Ok, I've got the natives occupied with pizza and a movie. We should have at least forty-five minutes of uninterrupted time to get down to business." Deacon walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"You're good, babe." Rayna smiled up at him.

"He's like the kid whisperer when it comes to them. I can honestly say that I've never seen them really misbehave when he's around. And you're supposed to be the hard ass when it comes to them, Babe." Tandy teased her sister.

"Daddy doesn't have to be a hard ass. He just has to give them a look. He doesn't ever raise his voice to them. He just has to sound stern and that little girl is on the verge of tears. They are more scared of makin' him upset than me. And he's never raised a hand to 'em. I've swatted them on the butt a time or two." Rayna replied.

"You know I can't raise a hand to any of 'em. They just don't know that yet. They generally respect us and the rules." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Deacon, do you have everything down that you're gonna need to do for everyone while I'm gone?" Bucky got down to business.

"Yeah, I've pretty much got it covered. I can wing it if I have to." Deacon assured him.

"I think for the sake of everyone involved we need to push back Maddie and Jimmy's Opry inductions until after the wedding. That's just too much on everyone if we try to do it before." Rayna got that out of the way before they moved on to anything else.

"I totally agree. Thank you for suggestin' it first." Deacon put both his hands on her cheeks and kissed her.

"I was gonna raise that point with you too. You do have a little bit of sense when you want to." Tandy retorted.

"That's a sound idea. There is no way to fit all of that in before their wedding without cutting it close." Bucky gave his opinion.

"That is the most pressin' thing that we really have on our plates right now. The rest of it we can take as it comes. Buck, you're officially on vacation now. And the next part of this talk has nothin' to do with us." Deacon patted him on the back.

"There are just a couple of things of note. Daphne needs a producer for her next album. You've gotta get a single out of Maddie. Juliette is itching to get out on tour, but try to keep her crazy ideas to a minimum. She is gonna come at you out of left field and you need to shut her down. Will, Avery, and Jimmy are the easy ones to deal with, so you shouldn't have any problems out of them. Still from time to time things do come up. The Alabama Boys are out on tour and cutting an album right now just check in with them every so often and make sure that they don't need anything. One last thing Luke came to see me the other day and he wants to make an album. That's really nothing for you to worry about he takes care of everything himself. We give him a place to tour and make albums and he gives us a cut of his take in return." Bucky listed off.

"I know, Buck, I've got this covered." Deacon assured him.

"It took me a lot longer than I anticipated today, but I managed to get the temporary placement that I wanted for myself. I actually have him on the way over here right now I want to get a feel for how you two are gonna work out together." Tandy moved on to the next order of business.

"Babe, do I want to ask who this is and what cesspool you found him in?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"You are probably better off not asking. You really don't want to know." Tandy admitted.

A knock sounded on the side door.

"Come in, it's unlocked it's always unlocked." Deacon called out.

A tall man in his forties walked in the door. He had dark hair and blue eyes. "Hey, ya'll, sorry I'm late."

"Oh my God, that can't be who I think it is." Rayna turned to look at him a wide smile lit her face. "Little Nicky Wyatt. What are you doin' here?" She jumped up and hugged him.

"The evil redhead also known as your sister called me and told me that you needed some help. I came over as soon as I got out of the belly of the beast." Nick hugged her so tightly it lifted her off her feet. He was Dotty's son. His father had run off before he was born so he had his mother's last name.

"Put me down you overgrown teddy bear." Rayna laughed.

"Don't act like you're not happy to see me. I'm really excited that I'm gonna be workin' with ya." Nick put her back on her feet.

"I'm always happy to see you. You're the little brother that I never had. I'm surprised that you wanna come work with me. You've got that big cushy job over at Wyatt Industries." Rayna placed a wet kiss in the center of his forehead.

"I'm happy to come over there from Wyatt. Uncle Lamar can spare me. Trust me he doesn't want me there anymore than I wanna be there sometimes. I'm more somethin' that my momma forced on him than anythin'. If he thought he could get away with it he'd name Jeff Fordham CEO when he retires. Anyway, I'm yours for as long as you need me." Nick replied.

"I can see havin' you in the office is probably gonna be a bad idea." Deacon observed.

"Freakin' Deacon, it's good to see you, my man." Nick smiled at him.

"Nicky, you're finally lookin' like a grownup. I thought you were gonna look like that little kid I first met for the rest of your life." Deacon patted him on the back.

"This guy right here gave me my first beer and taught me how to sneak back into the house without my momma findin' out that I ever left. My friends thought he was a legend. Him and Vince. Him more so than Vince all my pervy friends thought that my cousin was so hot and that elevated Deacon's status. But Vince had really good weed." Nick laughed.

"I don't want to know, Nick, so I won't ask." Rayna shook her head.

Nick kissed the top of Tandy's head. "There's the woman who taught me everythin' I knew fresh outta business school."

"Someone had to teach you everything so you stayed ahead of daddy's learning curve. You don't know what he wants you to know and he will get in a mood and fire you." Tandy reminded him.

"Bucky, if there's anythin' that I can do for you let me know." Nick patted Bucky's shoulder and he took a seat.

"Thanks, I'll let you know." Bucky responded.

"Before we get down to business I've got just one thing to say to you. Keith." Rayna stared at him hard.

"Keith is harmless. He keeps momma in line as much as anyone can. Most importantly he keeps her happy and he keeps her from drivin'. Whatever else she may or may not use him for is none of my business." Nick put his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"You know how your momma is as well as anyone else does. I just had to make sure." Rayna replied.

"I do know my momma and that's why I did an extensive background check on Keith before I hired him. I've seen this story play out before. An elderly wealthy woman gets cleaned out by a charmin' much younger man. I wager to say I know that man better than his own momma does." Nick reassured her.

"You're good I'll give you that." Rayna nodded her head impressed.

"So, tell me what you need me to do." Nick finally got to business.

"Talk to your other cousin. I don't handle that part of the business. I try and it gives me a damn headache." Rayna pointed at Tandy.

"If you're gonna do this I left you an itemized list in my office of things that absolutely have to be done. You have to pay the electric bill, you have to prepay for studio use just in case one of the artists goes rouge and decides that they are gonna record without telling anyone there's a list of the studios that everyone uses on my desk, and you also have to do payroll. Everything else you take as it comes. When it comes to financing tours you'll coordinate with Deacon." Tandy laid out for him.

"Nicky, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I would understand if you wanted to stay where you are now. I can find someone else." Rayna tried to give him an out.

"I want to do this. I'm excited to do this. I get out from under Uncle Lamar's watchful eye for a little while. It's hard bein' the heir apparent to the throne. He doesn't wanna give it to me and I don't really want it. I need somethin' that's lower stress and less buttoned down for a little while. I'll actually be home at reasonable hour and I'll be able to see the kid I still have at home and maybe I'll be able to link up with the one that is at Vanderbilt. Plus, my street cred might go up in the younger one's eyes if I'm workin' at a record label." Nick replied.

"That doesn't make you as cool as you think it does. Mine just shrug their shoulders and go 'bout their business." Deacon advised him.

"Mine will be impressed with anythin' that gets me home." Nick retorted.

"Daddy's riding you that hard?" Tandy asked him.

"I'm not you. I won't bury the bodies for him and I talk back. That bein' said he's on me big time to step up and be a Wyatt in his words. He won't let me in where I want to be in the most. He won't put me in charge of the baseball team. He said that Jeff has that covered. Like I said though if he thought he could get away with puttin' Jeff in charge of everythin' he would. And he's tryin' to weasel his way into that position." Nick explained.

"I have a trump card to keep that from happening. That's the last thing you have to worry about." Rayna assured him.

"I will go back to work there before I let that happen. You said it best, Nick, I know where all the bodies are buried because I wielded the shovel. That's also why I don't work for him anymore. I haven't broken any major laws since I left." Tandy added.

"Nicky, can you start tomorrow? I don't wanna rush you, but I really need the help." Rayna leveled with him.

"I'll be in at let's say ten." Nick replied.

"I say you'll still probably beat us into the office. It takes us that long to get everyone outta the house." Deacon laughed.

"I'm in." Nick shook hands with him.

"In hind sight this might not have been my best idea." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"Putting Deacon with any of our old crew is never a good idea. I don't even like the fact that he has Max in his band. They get into more trouble than they're worth. Bucky, how many times have they left Max somewhere?" Rayna asked.

"They've had to turn the bus around and get him more times than I can count. Two or three times we've had to put him on a plane to get him to the next tour stop." Bucky recalled.

"I get on the bus and go directly to my bedroom 'cause I don't sleep for shit alone in a hotel room. Once I go back to my sleepin' quarters I don't know what goes on for roughly three hours. The only reason I sleep so well on the bus is because it reminds me of home. It's impossible to get the smell of my wife's perfume outta anythin'. It's like a security blanket for me." Deacon said a little more than he meant to.

"You are a creepy stalker when it comes to my sister. It's a good thing that you're married to her or I would be checking outside in the bushes for you." Tandy gave him a look of disgust.

"I kinda was stalkin' her just before we got married. That's a whole other story that we ain't gonna get into right now." Deacon admitted.

"It wasn't really stalking it was very sweet. He sent me all kinds of flowers and packages. And then I found out I was pregnant with the boys." Rayna covered for him.

"You both have a problem when it comes to each other." Nick just looked at them.

"We know." Rayna and Deacon answered in unison.

* * *

Rhett walked into the music room and sat his beer on a coaster on top of the piano and sat down. He put his fingers on the keys and started to play. _"You left your bible on the dresser, so I put it in the drawer cause I can't seem to talk to God without yellin' anymore. And when I sit at your piano I can almost hear those hymns. The keys are just collectin' dust, but I can't close the lid."_

He'd written this song about his mother. He sometimes liked to come into the music room after dinner and clear his head. _"You left my heart as empty as a Monday mornin' church. It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts. And I can hear the devil whisper things are only gettin' worse. You left my heart as empty as a Monday mornin' church."_

His eyes clouded with tears as he sang. Being around Paul all day had stirred up some feelings in him. _"The preacher came by Sunday said he missed me at the service he told me Jesus loved me but I'm not sure I deserve it. Cause the faithful man that you loved is nowhere to be found since he took all that he believed and laid it in the ground."_

He missed his mother more than he had in awhile. _"You left my heart as empty as a Monday mornin' church. It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts. And I can hear the devil whisper things are only gettin' worse. You left my heart as empty as a Monday mornin' church."_

" _I still believe in heaven and I'm sure you made it there. But as for me without your love, I don't have a prayer. You left my heart as empty as a Monday mornin' church. It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts. And I can hear the devil whisper things are only gettin' worse. You left my heart as empty as a Monday mornin' church. You left your bible on the dresser so I put it in the drawer."_ He rested his fingers on the keys and cleared his throat.

"That sounded pretty damn good, boy." Paul leaned up against the doorjamb.

"I didn't know you were there or even that you were still here." Rhett looked over at him.

"I helped Sadie with the dishes. Wy is a little pistol and I had to corral him for a little while. I heard you playin' in here and I had to stop and listen. If the baseball playin' thing doesn't work out for ya you would make one hell of a songwriter." Paul commented.

"Not much else to do in Natchez and know my momma loved music. I mean you know where you met her. She never gave me your name, but she told me where she met ya." Rhett replied.

"I met her in Maggie's. I was playin' a set and she caught my eye from across the room. There was no reason for a pretty young thing like her to be interested in me. I was two times her age. There was just somethin' that drew us together. I don't know if it was fate or if we were just supposed to get together long enough to bring you into this world. Or maybe she was just supposed to show me the man that I could be. The man I am today is the man she saw in me. The man I was back then wasn't fit to be in your life. I know that you may never forgive me for not bein' there, but I'm givin' you the chance to get to know the other half of yourself now and I don't think you'll forgive yourself if you don't take the opportunity before it's gone." Paul got deep on him.

"I don't know where to start." Rhett admitted.

"One of her favorite movies was Gone with the Wind. That's where your first name came from. Your middle name came from your great-grandfather. He was Deacon Timothy." Paul gave him a little tidbit of information.

"I didn't know that. I also didn't realize that there were that many men named Deacon in our family." Rhett observed.

"My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, me, your brother, and your nephew. It's just kinda a thing in this family I guess." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"And my son." Rhett added.

"What are you talkin' 'bout?" Paul asked him.

"You give me all kinda shit 'bout Lamar and how he's not my father. I know who my father is. I said earlier that I forgot your name is Deacon. That was a lie. Wy's name is Deacon Wyatt Claybourne. I know who my father is I know whose blood runs through my veins. The only reason he goes by Wyatt is I'm not sure how many more nicknames we could have come up with for Deacon." Rhett ran his fingers over the keys on the piano.

"I don't think I ever realized that." Paul walked into the room and rested his hand on top of the piano. "This was your momma's, wasn't it?"

"I never told you. And yeah it was hers. I learned to play on this piano. I teach the kids how to play on it." Rhett answered him.

"When she sat down at that piano and played those hymns it was enough to make me feel the hellfire and brimstone. It was almost enough to give me pause when I went to go on my next bender. It was almost like when I would sit and listen to my momma play." Paul replied.

"What was she like? My grandma I mean." Rhett asked.

"She was an angel on earth. She would have loved you. I think she may have been the sweetest person I've ever known. I don't know how I came from her. I've got a mean streak in me when I want to and Bev does too. I'm not real sure where you and your brother came from." Paul ran his hand through his hair.

"Really? That happens to be what I think 'bout June. Seems to me that you've been lucky enough to be surrounded by some really incredible women. Women that you didn't exactly deserve." Rhett commented.

"You won't get any arguments from me there. I've had a lot of things in my life that I didn't deserve." Paul didn't see a point in putting up any argument.

"If it makes you feel any better I'm not sure that I deserved my momma either. I ran a little wild as a teenager. I gave her more sleepless nights than I should have." Rhett stood up and went over to the bookshelf and picked up a picture of his mother.

"She was one hell of a woman. It takes one to tame a Claybourne man. We are wild and reckless." Paul observed.

"You think that's a design flaw?" Rhett half grinned.

"I think it just makes us better." Paul smiled back at him. A look of understanding passed between the two of them and the ice that had been there since the moment they met stared to thaw a little bit.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	54. Chapter 54

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 54

"Nick, does ten mean ten thirty in your head? I just wanna know for future reference. And I see you follow Deacon's dress code." Rayna greeted Nick at the front of the office when he walked in.

"Ray, it's ten oh five. I had trouble findin' parkin'. I like Deacon's dress code. This is the first day since I graduated college that I haven't woke up and had to put a suit and tie on to go to work." Nice held his wrist in front of her face and showed her his watch. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"I really don't care what you wear as long as you look presentable. You know how to dress, you don't need me to tell you. Come and go as you please just be aware of what's on your schedule. That's all I ask for. Tandy is gonna be in a little later and she's gonna walk you through what you need to know. Even though there are notes for you all over her desk. I have an office you to make yourself at home in. I don't think you wanna take over Tandy's office. I thought we could start with a tour to get you used to this place." Rayna told him.

"A tour would be great. I can get my bearings and settle in before I get to work." Nick replied.

"Take a break and calm yourself down. This isn't what you're used to and it's gonna take you a minute to get your bearings. I'm here for you don't hesitate to ask question if you need to." Rayna smiled at him.

"You don't know who you're talkin' to right now. Tandy trained me personally. That means I should be able to put boots on the ground, appraise the situation, and come up with a solution in half a day. I can swim with the sharks if I have to." Nick squeezed her shoulder and smiled back at her.

"You don't have to worry about very many sharks around here. You have to worry about artists givin' you a migraine. And in interest of full disclosure you make have to stretch a dime into a dollar. I don't know what our finances look like, but I know that we are on a little bit of a bumpy road right now. Tandy and Bucky have been protectin' me." Rayna informed him.

"I'll take a look at things and see what I can do. Now, show me around here." Nick reassured her.

"You really are a Wyatt. We don't go around mountains we move them. That's about the only thing I got from my father. Come on, follow me." Rayna gestured for him to follow her.

"I can say for sure that if you're like any Wyatt it's my momma you take after." Nick followed behind her.

Rayna led him to the cubicles in the middle of the office. "This is the bullpen. This where all the PAs are. They are normally just floating around, but if you're an executive you get your own assistant. You can have Bucky's. On second thought I better give you someone else. I'm sendin' Bucky and Tandy's assistants on vacation. That way neither one of them are tempted to work."

"Alright, I can hang with that." Nick just took everything in.

"Emily isn't in today Juliette must have needed her for somethin'. I employ her here when Juliette has down time. For the record, I don't like it when Juliette has down time. That gives her time to make messes that we have to clean up. If Juliette, Maddie, or Casey come to you with any crazy ideas you tell them no." Rayna warned him and led him to another part of the office.

"Got it, if they come to me with anythin' stupid I shoot 'em down." Nick nodded his head.

"This is our social media director's office. That job title didn't used to come with an office. I started lettin' Tandy have interns and she too a shinin' to this one. MJ, say hi to our temporary CFO." Rayna knocked on the doorjamb.

MJ looked up from his computer with his headphones around his neck. "Hey, I was just puttin' the finishin' touches on Maddie and Jimmy's music video. I think I finally have it all edited together. Tandy told me that it had to be a top priority. I took that to hear and I have been workin' on it nonstop." He stood and offered his hand to Nick. "MJ Waterson, social media director."

"Nick Wyatt, temporary CFO. I was one of Tandy's pet projects once upon a time. I know what that's like." Nick shook his hand.

"MJ, Nick is my cousin who is more like a little brother to me. Nick, MJ is Max's son. I know you remember him. He's also Maddie's future nephew." Rayna explained.

"Aw man, small world. Your daddy is singlehandedly responsible for my first hangover. It's really a pleasure to meet you." Nick gave him a charming smile.

"It's real nice to meet you too, Mr. Wyatt." MJ smiled back.

"Mr. Wyatt is my Uncle Lamar. You call me that and I'm gonna look over my shoulder to make sure he's not standin' right there checkin' up on me like usual. I want you to call me Nick and maybe when we get to know each other better I'll even le t you commit the unforgivable sin of callin' me Nicky." Nick patted him on the back.

"I can see that this is gonna be a dangerous relationship. MJ, just because Tandy is out of the office right now doesn't mean that you're allowed to slack off in here." Rayna warned him.

"I never slack off. If this is 'bout Maddie and Casey comin' in here and takin' over I can't fight both of 'em off. I'm pretty sure that Casey could kick my ass." MJ replied.

"MJ, I'll kick your ass if you let them into my office again. I really need to figure out how Casey knows my password." Rayna pointed her finger at him.

"Yes, ma'am," MJ gulped.

"Nicky, let's let MJ get back to work. He needs to finish that video and get it up on YouTube." Rayna had him follow her again.

"Damn, he reminds me so much of Mad Max." Nick chuckled.

"Yeah, he really does." Rayna knocked on the door of Deacon's office. She smirked when she saw Jack sitting on her husband's desk. "Did you actually fail at preschool drop off for a change?"

"No, I forgot that today was a teacher development day and there was no school. He's bein' daddy's big helper right now. We need to pick the picture that we want them to use for Maddie and Jimmy's inductions." Deacon took his glasses off and sat them on the desk.

"Damn it, I was hoping that you wouldn't have the high horse over me on that one anymore." Rayna sighed, and turned to Nick. "As you can see this is Deacon's office."

"These are pretty nice digs for the guy I used to know." Nick teased.

"I kinda got the job forced on me while she was pregnant with the boys. I just never gave it up. I'm kinda glad I didn't now. I don't know what I'd do with myself in that house all day. I'd probably go crazy." Deacon laughed softly.

"Don't let him be so modest. He's our utility guy around here. If he can't handle it you've either fucked up very badly or it's a problem for Tandy to handle." Rayna told him.

"I will keep that in mind." Nick replied. "Oh my gosh, is that Jack Henry? It can't be. He is gettin' so big."

"Yeah, you didn't get a chance to see him last night. He was in the other room occupied." Rayna replied.

Jack finally looked up and noticed that there were other people in the room. A smile slowly lit up his face. "Uncle Nicky!"

"Jack Attack! Come here!" Nick bent down and opened his arms to the little boy.

Jack ran to him and wrapped his arms around his neck. "What are you doin' here?"

"I'm workin' here for a little while. I hope that's ok with you." Nick hugged him tightly.

"That is so cool!" Jack wrapped himself around him.

"You're really excited to see me." Nick laughed.

"You're only special 'cause of who your momma is. He knows you're Aunt Dottie's son. The boy loves his Aunt Dottie 'cause she teaches him how to smoke cigars and play cards." Deacon informed him.

"I'll take what I can get." Nick shrugged.

"Alright, Jack, let Uncle Nicky get to work. I'm not payin' him to hang out with you." Rayna kissed her son's head.

"If I get a minute I'll come see you later, bud." Nick gave him another hug.

"Ok, Uncle Nicky." Jack let go of him.

* * *

"Favorite book?" Rhett reached over to grab a wrench. He and Paul were laying on the floor of the garage working on his motorcycle.

"To Kill a Mocking Bird. I've read it probably ten times." Paul as usual had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"That surprises me. I didn't expect that answer from you." Rhett sounded shocked. That just wasn't the way he pictured Paul in his head.

"Like I told you there's a lot you don't know 'bout me. I did sit-ins and marches and I helped get blacks registered to vote. That's why I call you down every time you refer to me as a slave owner. I was big into the civil rights movement. I was a decent enough guy before I became a drunk. And before I got back from 'Nam. I saw some things over there that changed me. I didn't sleep well anymore and the only thing that would put me to sleep was drinkin' myself to that point. Then I got mean and you know the rest of the story." Paul took a long drag off his cigarette.

"What did you do in Vietnam? What branch of the service were you in?" Rhett inquired.

"I went over there as a mechanic and I ended up gettin' pressed into service as an infantryman. I was in the Marines." Paul answered. He got one of the pipes off the bike and took a look at it.

"I guess you really were in the thick of things then." Rhett didn't know what else to say about that. Paul had just painted a picture for him that he didn't expect.

"I was and it wasn't pretty at all." Paul confirmed. "Son of a bitch. This is what I was afraid of. It's a damn good thing that I have a new set of pipes for this in the back of the truck. These are so rusted on the inside that just a little bit of pressure in the right spot will put a hole in 'em."

"You have a set of pipes for this bike?" Rhett's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. He didn't think that it would be possible to get parts that quickly.

"I do. The hard to find I can get within a few hours. The impossible takes a little while longer." Paul smirked.

"You ready to put the engine back on?" Rhett sat up.

"Yeah, we should do that now and then put pipes back on. I wanna fire this up and see how it sounds." Paul got off the ground with some effort.

"I don't quite know what I'm doin'. I'm gonna need some help." Rhett walked over to where the engine sat.

"Well, hell, I know that, boy." Paul joined him.

"You gonna be able to pick this up, old man?" Rhett wasn't sure about the wisdom of having Paul lift that heavy piece of equipment.

"I ain't sure 'bout it, but I'll it a try." Paul replied.

Rhett looked at the engine then at his father and back again. "On second thought, I'll get it. I'm pretty strong."

"I'll help if you need me to." Paul offered. His pride wouldn't let him back down.

"Nah, I don't need any help. I can get it." Rhett shooed him away.

"I ain't gonna stand in the way of that Claybourne pride." Paul stepped back and let him do what he was going to do.

Rhett bent at the knees and lifted the engine with a loud grunt. He carried it over and sat it on the bike frame.

"Rhett, what in the hell do you think you're doing? You hurt playing around and our season is over." Lamar scolded him.

"Lamar, what are you doin' here?" Rhett hadn't expected him to be there.

"I came by to see how you were feeling. I want my star well rested and happy. Whatever it is that you're here I don't want going on. We can't afford to have you pull something or drop something on your foot and break it." Lamar crossed his arms over his chest.

"I have to do somethin' to keep from goin' crazy. I can't just sit 'round and do nothin'." Rhett informed him.

"It smells like a barroom in here. Are you smoking now too on top of everything else?" Lamar demanded.

"No, he's not smokin'. My son and I are workin' on a project together." Paul lit another cigarette off the butt of the one he'd just finished.

"Paul, I didn't see you standing there." Lamar looked down his nose at the other man, but he offered him his hand.

"Lamar," Paul nodded at him ignoring his hand. "You don't wanna shake my hand right now I'm covered in grease."

"I thought that was just the color of your hands honestly." Lamar took a dig at him.

"I was a mechanic for a long time. My hands are stained that way. As far as I'm concerned it's a badge of honor. It means for once in my life I did a hard day's work for an honest wage." Paul let the dig pass him by.

"Ya'll this boy wants to be out here with you. Keep a good eye on him." Sadie opened the door and yelled out. She'd just diffused a bad situation.

"Pawpaw!" Wyatt ran right to Lamar.

Lamar bent down and picked the little boy up. "Hi, Wyatt,"

Wyatt hugged him tightly. "Hi, pawpaw."

Paul did a slow burn, but he didn't say anything. Over the years he'd learned to control his horrible temper. Part of that was knowing when to keep his mouth shut and knowing when to speak up.

* * *

"How's Nick working out for you?" Tandy crossed her legs.

"How's Bucky?" Rayna answered her question with a question. She wasn't going to let her sister sidetrack her with work.

"The oncologist that we saw is very optimistic about Bucky's prognosis. He thinks that he has a really good chance of going into remission without having any relapses. There's this clinical trial they are doing for prostate cancer and he wants to put Bucky in it. He seems to think that that will work better for him than radiation or surgery. The treatments would last for a month and depending on the results we will go from there. Thanks again for pulling some strings for him, Babe." Tandy smiled at her.

"He's family. I will do whatever I can for him. You don't have to thank me this is what we do for each other. You sat up at that hospital with Deacon and read him business proposals to help him sleep even though I know he isn't your favorite person in the world. I love Bucky to death. Did you really think I wouldn't pull out all the stops for him? I've known him even longer than you have." Rayna pointed out to her.

"Now answer my question." Tandy ordered her. She'd spent the whole morning with a doctor she needed a change of subject.

"Nicky is working out great. He fits in like he was born to work here. You did a great job picking your temporary replacement. I like him better than I like you. He does what I tell him to and he doesn't act like he knows so much more about business that I do. He's smart as a whip and he gets results." Rayna teased her a little bit.

"I do know more than you do about business and someone around here needs to keep you honest. He's one of my personal protégés he better be smart." Tandy joked back weakly. She wasn't up to par with her insults.

"You don't keep me honest you just try to tell me what to do." Rayna hooked her eyebrow.

"Mhmm, keep mouthing off. Take me to Nick I wanna check in on him and see how he's doing." Tandy rolled her eyes. At least she could count on her close, but sometimes contentious relationship with her sister always staying the same.

"I'll do that, but first I want you and Buck to come over for dinner tonight. It's family game night and I think it'll be good for both of you." Rayna made it seem like a request, but it wasn't. She would drag her there kicking and screaming if she had to.

"I know that you won't take no for an answer, so we will be there." Tandy agreed.

"I'll show you where I stuck Nicky." Rayna led her to Nick's office. He was hunched over his desk working on something.

"Nicky Wyatt, look at you working away like I taught you well." Tandy made their presence known.

"Someone needs to. The head of marketin' is a dumb ass. You wouldn't believe the costs that I can cut there alone. I already have a proposal written up. Who is the head of the perspective talent department? That expense account is ridiculous. There's a ton of fat that can be trimmed there. Rayna, I understand that you're the boss, but really? Do you absolutely need someone to come in to give you a pedicure? And why don't you just pay for it outta pocket?" Nick pushed himself back from his desk.

"That's really great work, Nicky." Tandy praised him.

"Talk to Tandy about the pedicures. She's the one who said that it was justifiable expense. Deacon is the head of the perspective talent department. We don't touch his expense account. If he has to entertain future artists it's better that we just leave him be." Rayna advised him.

"Whatever you say. I won't touch that stuff." Nick laughed a little.

"Did you get the piles of papers out of my office?" Tandy asked him.

"I did." Nick replied.

"They are sorted by department. After you go over them they go to their respective departments. From there they take them to Rayna for her to sign them. Sometimes you cut out the middle man and there are papers you take right to her for her signature. I'm sure you noticed the stack of papers that really don't belong in a category. That's what's known as Deacon work." Tandy explained to him.

"For the time being it's Nick work. If we put too much more on Deacon's plate I'm afraid of stressin' his heart out. He just had that surgery and I want to be careful." Rayna added.

"I'll take care of it no worries." Nick reassured her.

"I have this for you to sign. It officially makes you acting CFO." Tandy sat a piece of paper in front of him.

Nick signed it. "There you go."

"While I'm thinkin' about it, what's your full name? You want me to get that right if you want me to pay you. You do payroll, but I have to sign your check because you're an executive. I can't remember what your first name is, Nicky." Rayna laughed.

"My name is Oliver Nicolas Harlan Wyatt the second. The only thing my momma did that was considered proper was give me that horrible name, a name she never calls me by. I can only ever remember her callin' me Nicky or Nick. If I misbehaved it was Nicolas. A couple times it was Oliver Nicolas. Only once do I recall her callin' me Oliver Nicolas Harlan. That was because I got drunk and borrowed pawpaw's car without askin'. She was only so pissed because she had to get Uncle Lamar involved to keep me outta trouble." Nick answered.

"I thought Harlan was your first name that's why I checked with you. So, I should put Oliver on your check?" Rayna double checked.

"No, you can make it out to O. Nicolas Wyatt. I've had payroll doin' it for years. I've never had a problem." Nick replied.

"Whatever you want, Ollie." Rayna teased him.

"Don't call me that. I hate it." Nick stiffened up.

"Because Harlan is such a normal name." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"I'm sittin' in a room with two people who have no room to talk right now. Oliver and Nicolas are both very common names. Harlan is a southern name. What the hell kinda names are Tandy and Rayna anyway?" Nick smirked and arched his eyebrow.

"With me ask your uncle he came up with my name. Momma named the brat. Keep up with me and next time I need one of my protégés to do something for me you won't be the first person I ask." Tandy frowned at him.

"Aunt Virginia was always one to go against the grain. I shouldn't really be surprised." Nick mused.

"You remember my momma?" Rayna smiled. "And I'm not a brat."

"Of course, I do. She made Uncle Lamar bearable." Nick swiveled around in his chair.

"I won't argue that one with you. Rayna, you are so a brat." Tandy replied.

"That's your opinion." Rayna glared at her.

"It's a fact. Nicky, back my up here." Tandy turned to her cousin.

"Since I'm the only child of a woman whose family owns half of Nashville I'm in the unique position to judge who is a spoiled brat and who isn't. My mother has given me everythin' I've ever asked for and then some. Ray, you're a spoiled brat. I love you to death, but you're as rotten as I am." Nick squinted his eyes and waited for her temper to explode.

"How do you two figure that I'm a brat? I know a few brats myself. Maddie and Jayme come to mind." Rayna demanded.

"Daddy has never paid off a record label on my behalf or paid a radio station to play my album." Tandy pointed out.

"My daddy never built a baseball stadium to give my artists a place to perform. Oh, wait, my daddy never gave me anythin' not even his name." Nick snorted.

"The whole stadium thing was to serve himself. If memory serves he also offered to give the whole team to Tandy. He was gonna give her whatever position she wanted. She's the one who turned him down." Rayna defended herself.

"He favors you we've been through this. You're the only part of momma he could semi hold on to. Not that anyone can hold on to you, but you know what I mean." Tandy reminded her.

"You two are just alike. He looks at me and sees momma. He tries to buy my affections so, I don't leave him again. With you he doesn't feel like he has to try. He takes you for granted, because you're both cut from the same cloth." Rayna explained to her.

"How does any work get done around this place?" Nick asked.

"Now you feel my pain. I feel like a camp counselor instead of a CFO sometimes. It's impossible to keep them focused. They are children. That's an insult to children because Jack does better work than all these clowns combined. The CEO and the head of talent procurement like to trade shares back and forth for favors. At any given time, I'm not sure who has controlling interest of the label." Tandy answered him.

"I'm pretty sure as of right now I own fifty-one percent of the shares. He traded me a share for a pizza that he absolutely was not supposed to have, because of his heart surgery. He originally traded me twenty percent of his shares, but I ate half his pizza." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"Ya'll ain't right. Though I wish all my ex-wife took from me was half a pizza." Nick chuckled.

"Nick, you paid your ex-wife off to just go away." Tandy laughed at him.

"No, I paid her off to stay away. She went away just fine. The crazy bitch just took the kids with her and I wasn't ok with that. She's a certified looney tune. I'm still payin' for her psychiatric care and we've been divorced for thirteen years. It was worth the money just knowin' that I have sole custody." Nick shook his head.

"It's crude, but effective." Rayna chuckled.

A knock sounded on the door. A teenage boy stood there. "Uh, who do I have to talk to 'bout seein' my dad?"

"Oh, my goodness, Harley, look at you, you handsome thing. You are so grown up." Rayna hugged him tightly.

"Harley, say hi to Aunt Ray." Nick instructed his son.

"Hi, Aunt Ray," Harley smiled at her.

"I can't get over how much you're startin' to look like a man. You've got facial hair and you're drivin'." Rayna marveled.

"Our men are still little boys who don't have mustaches yet." Tandy referred to her nephews.

"A man who is 'bout to be in a world of trouble if he doesn't have a good reason for bein' here durin' school hours." Nick crossed his arms over his chest.

"Relax, I ain't skippin' class. I have the rest of my afternoon free. I thought I'd come by to see ya." Harley replied.

"That was thoughtful of you. I'm just gettin' settled in here. There's really nothin' for you to see." Nick told him.

"I didn't come just to see how your first day was goin'. I came here for somewhat selfish reasons. I need a favor and I was thinkin' that maybe you could help me out." Harley informed him.

"I'll do what I can for you, son, but I make no promises. What do you need? And how much is it gonna cost me?" Nick sighed in resignation.

"Ok, so, I was hopin' that you'd be able to get me Opry tickets for tonight. It's sold old, but I know that there is always wiggle room." Harley rubbed his hands together.

"No can do, kid. I don't have any pull over there. That's like the only business in the city that Wyatt Industries doesn't have a relationship with. If you wanna go to the symphony I can get you tickets no problem. Baseball season rolls around I can get you box seats. Uncle Lamar doesn't look kindly on that organization." Nick hated to let him down, but he couldn't help.

"It was worth a try." Harley sounded dejected.

"Sorry, buddy, you know I hate tellin' you no." Nick replied.

"It's ok, dad, I know you'd do it if you could.

Rayna got a thoughtful look on her face. "Will Lexington is playing the Opry tonight. It is sold out. Will makes me happy because he sells out shows. Is this to impress a friend, a girl, or just for yourself?"

"Well, there is this girl, but I am a big Will Lexington fan." Harley blushed.

"Is she a friend, a girl you're tryin' to impress, or a girlfriend?" Rayna asked him.

"She's a girl I'm tryin' to impress." Harley admitted.

"So, is this a date or are you just hanging out?" Tandy questioned.

"I guess we're just hangin' out, but I want it to be more." Harley shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll be right back." Rayna left the room quickly.

"What's with her?" Harley asked.

"You're guess is as good as mine, son." Nick's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

Rayna walked back into the room. "One of the perks of bein' a member of the Opry is I can get in there whenever I want. Even when the show is sold out. If you're lookin' to impress this girl this is the way to go." She held out a backstage pass.

"What's this?" Harley took it from her.

"That's my pass. They won't question you usin' it. That'll get you and another person in there without a problem. Just give that back to your daddy when you get home tonight." Rayna explained to him.

"What do you say to Aunt Ray?" Nick looked at his son expectantly.

"Thank you, Aunt Ray." Harley parroted dutifully.

"I can do you one better than watchin' the show from the side of the stage." Rayna pulled out her phone and made a call. "Hey, Will, I need a favor. The closest thing that I have to a nephew on my daddy's side of the family is gonna be at the show tonight. I was hopin' that you wouldn't mind givin' him the VIP treatment." She listened to what Will had to say. "Thanks, Will, I appreciate it." She hung up the phone. "Ok, you are all set. Will is gonna put on a dog and pony show for you tonight. If this girl doesn't already like you after tonight she's gonna really like you."

"You're the best." Harley grinned.

"I know I am. So, are you free for the rest of the day?" Rayna asked him.

"I am." Harley answered.

"If you were inclined to wanna pay me back you could do that by workin' it off." Rayna suggested to him.

"I can do that." Harley agreed.

"Ok, if you wanna go in the social media director's office I'm sure that he can find a thing or two for you to do." Rayna replied.

"Sure thing." Harley grinned.

"Come on, I'll show you the way." Rayna put her arm around his sholders.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	55. Chapter 55

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Bro Code by Brantley Gilbert and Always on My Mind by Willie Nelson.

* * *

Chapter 55

"You two are acting squirrely. Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Rayna looked between Maddie and JC.

They were all gathered in Rayna and Deacon's living room for family game night.

"Mom, you'll find out in a couple of minutes." Maddie replied.

"I'll get the tv set up." JC picked up the remote and pulled up Highway 65's YouTube channel.

"I think that this is gonna be a lot more interesting than whatever game we're getting ready to play." Daphne commented dryly.

"I second that." Tandy agreed.

"This has all the makings of a mess that someone is gonna have to clean up." Bucky observed.

"I'll make 'em clean up their own messes. I ain't you." Deacon retorted.

"Maddie, what did you do to get in trouble this time?" Charlie had her sister pegged.

"It's bad when she knows you're trouble." Rayna laughed.

"Alright, here we go it's startin'." JC turned the volume up on the tv.

MJ appeared on the screen. "Hey, ya'll, I'm MJ Waterson, social media director for Highway Sixty-five. I've been droppin' hints all day 'bout a big drop happenin' tonight and here's the world premiere of JC Grayson's new music video." The screen faded to black.

"I didn't think he'd have that video done that fast." Rayna mused.

"This isn't that video, mom. He is finished with it though." Maddie bit her lip.

Music started to play and different shots of Maddie, Juliette, Scarlett, and Casey putting makeup on appeared on the screen. It then showed them each putting on revealing outfits.

"This doesn't look good at all." Deacon commented.

" _Look at ya girl standin' in my doorway. Rockin' them curls and them cut off daises."_ Shots of each of the women holding up a case of beer standing on a front porch flashed on the tv. JC, Will, Gunnar, and Avery each opened the door.

" _She called me up. Can I come over, boy? I'm bored to death and I'm all alone."_ JC opened the door to Juliette, Will opened the door to Maddie, Avery opened the door to Scarlett, and Gunnar opened the door to Casey.

" _And she only drinks when she's lonely. She only gets stoned when you ain't home. Now, I know bro code and I ain't breakin' it. But, bro, you've got yourself a situation, bro."_ Each of the women walked into the house passed the guy who had opened the door.

"I'm killin' all of you for this." Rayna grumbled.

" _You better get you girl home, boy. You better take yourself home, boy. You better tell her you love her you need her. 'Cause if you don't she's 'bout to be long gone, bro."_ There were different shots of the guys at a bar in groups of threes.

" _I opened the door and she gets to talkin'. Talkin' 'bout he's controllin' me and tryin' to hold me back. It's getting' old, man. She's ready to roll, man. And I don't want to say I told you so, man."_ Each of the guys played a shoulder to cry on for their respective girl.

" _And she only drinks when she's lonely. She only gets stoned when you ain't home. Now, I know bro code and I ain't breakin' it. But, bro, you got yourself a situation, bro."_ There were more shots of the guys at the bar drinking.

" _You better get you girl home, boy. You better take yourself home, boy. You better tell you love her you need her. 'Cause if you don't she's 'bout to be long gone, bro. You better show your girl a good time. If you don't it's gon' be goodbye. And if you take her for granted you hand her to another man it's a matter of time, bro. It's a matter of time."_ The next shot was of the girls pushing the guys onto the couch and straddling them and kissing them.

The screen cut to everyone being at a bonfire together. The guys looked like they were going to get into a fight until they huddled up. It showed them playing the instrumentals to the song. _"Now I know it ain't my business, but I gotta insist that if this was somebody else your deal is already finished. Because bro code goes out the window. Just be glad it's me lettin' you know, bro."_

" _Cause she only drinks when she's lonely. She only gets stoned when you're ain't home. And I know bro code and I ain't breakin' it. But, bro, you got yourself a situation, bro. You better get your girl home, boy. You better take yourself home, boy. You better tell her you love her you need her. 'Cause if you don't she's 'bout to be long gone, bro. Better show that girl a good time. If you don't it's gon' be goodbye. And if you take it for granted you hand her to another man, it's a matter of time, bro. It's a matter of time, bro."_ The video ended with everyone walking off with their significant other.

"Well, that was somethin'." Tandy observed.

"I think I should be pissed that you guys didn't ask me to be in that video." Daphne frowned.

"We decided that you are way too sweet and innocent to be in a video like that." Maddie replied.

"So, it's ok for you to act like a whore, but it would be crazy if I did?" Daphne arched her eyebrow.

"Daphne, watch your mouth." Deacon scolded her.

"Jimmy, that song was good. I'm not even gonna ask what inspired it. It deviated from the direction we were gonna go in with this album though." Rayna gave him a pointed look.

"I'm still doin' the album you wanted me to do, but I'm gonna do a dual album. One disc that showcases my soft side and another one for my outlaw side. It's not gonna push the release back any, because I already have the songs written and I'm recordin' them." JC explained to her.

"Ok, if that's what you want I won't argue with you." Rayna nodded her head.

"How much did that video cost to produce?" Tandy asked them. She couldn't help herself.

"I paid MJ outta pocket for that video. We just used our houses to film it. We went into the Exit Ramp after hours to film the bar scenes. Maddie had the keys and we put everythin' back where we found it." JC told her.

"Submit your expenses to Nick he will cut you a check." Tandy went into work mode without thinking.

"Uncle Nicky is in the office?" Daphne asked.

"He's taking your Aunt Tandy's place as temporary CFO." Deacon answered her.

"Uh, so, Jimmy, did you really kiss Juliette?" Jayme asked.

"I don't wanna talk 'bout it." JC shook his head.

"MJ used camera angles to make that look real." Maddie laughed.

"Except for the part where you really did kiss Will." JC mumbled.

"You kissed, Uncle Will?" Deac had a disgusted look on his face.

"It wasn't a big deal. I kiss Mack on the mouth all the time. So, it's basically like I've kissed Will before." Maddie tried to put him at ease.

"It's true. Mack is one of her best friends. You'll understand Maddie and Mack's friendship better when you're older. You'll understand a lot more when you're older. You won't understand Casey though. I'm gonna twenty-nine and I don't understand Casey." JC explained as best as he could.

"Seriously, though, why would you make a song outta that?" Deacon asked him.

"Cause we use the term bro code a lot. Scarlett told us we say it so much it sounds like a damn hit song. So, I made a song outta it." JC shrugged his shoulders.

"That and we kinda got a speech about not bringing in enough revenue between the two of us. We thought a video would help." Maddie added.

"It'll help I just hope you have a new single ready to go. You better I'm your head of A and R right now. I'm not Uncle Bucky I'll make you clean up your own messes." Deacon warned her.

"I'll use the song that I sang at mom's Opry thing." Maddie replied.

"I for one would like to know how Howdy Doody got stuck with Casey." Tandy referred to Gunnar.

"We drew straws for that shit. Casey and Juliette are both wild cards and I got stuck with the master. Just for the record short shit was damn near sittin' on chest in that couch shot." JC clarified.

"Right, I was sitting right above Will's belt line and his belt buckle was digging into me. MJ did really good with those angles." Maddie explained before her parents' mind could jump there.

"Thank God," Rayna breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jimmy, back in the day bro code used to mean an unspoken understandin' between me and your daddy not to tell Ray that we showed up drunk to sound check again." Deacon informed JC.

"I almost always knew though. Especially with Vince. He'd get off count when he was trashed and throw me off. Hell, he'd throw the whole band off. You may think you're good, but you're not Deacon drunk and compensating for drunk Vince because he just can't keep the beat. Buck, how many times did we fire Vince?" Rayna recalled.

"You never fired Vince. I fired Vince fifteen times. You loved him too much to ever make it stick for long. I will give you credit for firing Deacon once. That lasted maybe a few months and then someone got pregnant with two of my favorite guys." Bucky corrected her.

"I'm sorry I call bullshit. It was about a year from the time I fired him to the time I got pregnant. It was over a year." Rayna countered.

"You fired daddy?" Charlie's jaw hung open.

"Why would you do that, momma?" Jack's eyes got big.

"That's one of those things you'll understand when you're older." Deacon covered quickly.

Maddie picked up her phone and checked it when it buzzed. "I wasn't aware that pawpaw knew how to text. He sure can give a guilt trip just as well over text though. He called me Madison and told me that both my grandmothers are ladies and like it or not I'm half Wyatt I should conduct myself better. Then he goes on to say something that I'm not gonna repeat."

"What did he say, Maddie?" Rayna held her hand out for her daughter's phone.

"He said I didn't have to give the appearance of being loose just because my other grandfather may actually be a gigolo." Maddie squinted her eyes tightly.

"Paul ain't a gigolo. Lamar is bein' dramatic again. Paul gives it away for free. I don't think it ever occurred to him to charge." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"Babe," Rayna looked at him apologetically.

"I'm used to him, Ray. You ain't gotta apologize for him. I'll let you be the one to tell him that it's not ok to insinuate that his granddaughter is a common whore. If I say it I'm inclined to say it with my fists. I don't think that would be good." Deacon said through gritted teeth.

"Ok, on that note Tandy and I are goin' to the kitchen to check on the food. You get the game board set up." Rayna leaned over and pecked his lips.

* * *

Tandy got up and followed her sister into the kitchen.

"Your father is gonna make me kill him one of these days." Rayna sighed.

"As far as we know he's your father too. The jury is still out on that one. For awhile I was halfway convinced that Watty was your father." Tandy joked.

"That's not funny." Rayna glared at her.

"I'm kidding. At the time it occurred to me I wasn't kidding though. I thought it was a real possibility with the way daddy hated Watty and with the way that Watty went out of his way to help you. As it turns out you just inherited mom's ability to make them crazy." Tandy arched her eyebrow.

"Shut up," Rayna grabbed a bottle of wine.

"You can't tell me that the thought didn't cross your mind after you found out about mom's affair. You two are just alike that way. The only difference is as far as I know you didn't sleep with Deacon while you were married." Tandy grabbed the corkscrew.

"The only reason I'm lettin' you get away with that comment is because Bucky is sick and I know you get mean when you're really stressed out." Rayna retorted.

"Can I ask you a question?" Tandy changed the subject.

"You can ask me anything you know that." Rayna took the takeout menu out of the drawer. That was her idea of making dinner for the night.

"Do you think that I would make a good mother? I happen to think that I don't have a maternal bone in my body. I'm too career driven to be bothered with something else that is gonna divert my attention." Tandy rambled. That wasn't like her at all.

"Babe, I think you would make a good mother if that's what you want. What brought that on?" Rayna leaned up against the counter.

"I think Bucky is feeling his mortality and it was just something he brought up earlier. I don't even know if I want to. We were just talking. We waited too long to have this particular conversation." Tandy shook her head.

"You're Deacon's age and he does it just fine. If I'm bein' honest he's the better parent. If this is somethin' you want I will do everythin' in my power to help you." Rayna replied.

"I'm Deacon's age, but Bucky is older than I am. Deacon has you, you're still a baby. You're barely fifty. I'm a year away from qualifying as a senior citizen. I just don't know." Tandy sighed.

"There are perks to still bein' a baby. My OBGYN says that I'm not showin' any signs of bein' menopausal. If this is somethin' that you wanna do I'd be willin' to give you one of my eggs. I'm damn sure not usin' 'em." Rayna offered.

"That's really sweet of you, but like I said I don't know if this is something I even want to do. We're free to come and go as we please. We have the two of us to take care of that's it. But, then I think would having a child be so terrible? You are at your happiest when you're being a mother. Like tonight you have them all under one roof and all is right in your world." Tandy smiled a little.

"You should really think about it hard. I know that we are different people and momma's death affected us differently. When we lost her I lost my sense of family. I had you, but I knew I needed more. I needed that bond again. Admittedly I hold on way too tightly to them. I do and say crazy things that no parent should do, but I don't ever want them to wonder if they were loved." Rayna took her sister's hand.

"You're a great mother. Those kids are so lucky to have you. You juggle it all effortlessly." Tandy squeezed her hand.

"I'm not gonna be juggling so much this time next year. I'm retiring. At least I'm semi retiring no more big tours until Jack is older. I'm still gonna make music and do small tours, but I'm done with the big tours after I go on a tour that's gonna be a pain in the ass for you to deal with. I figure we'll be here. I can do the room mother thing and Deacon can couch sports teams. Let's face it I'm probably gonna be a grandmother soon. I wanna be here for that." Rayna smiled.

"Just another reason that it's a bad idea for me to even thinking about having a kid right now. If you're in the office that's even more of a mess for me to clean up." Tandy sighed.

"Ok, I'm gonna pretend like I didn't just walk in on the middle of a weird conversation." Maddie went to the fridge.

"What are you doing in here and how much did you hear?" Rayna asked.

"I heard retirement and baby. I am getting his royal highness a juice box he's thirsty and I'm getting the cowboy a beer. I'm also going in there and keeping my mouth shut about what I just heard. Aunt Tandy, I'm young and healthy and you're my favorite aunt. I'd be willing to you know, help out. That is if you don't mind the fact that I'm half Claybourne. Just putting it out on the table." Maddie answered.

"Come here," Tandy hugged her tightly. "You are one of my favorite nieces and I appreciate that, but you're of more use to me making music. Your uncle is gonna be the death of while he has all this free time." She kissed the center of Maddie's forehead.

"Thank you, that means don't even tell Jimmy. Beer is on the middle shelf the top shelf is for your dad's root beer bottles. Don't mix them up he doesn't always check labels." Rayna reminded her again.

"I know, mom, you tell me that all the time. That offer stands, Aunt Tandy." Maddie replied.

"Don't give your brother grape juice in my living room he will spill it on the rug. The maid just deep cleaned that thing." Rayna added.

"I got him apple juice, don't worry." Maddie reassured her.

"What game did daddy set up?" Rayna asked.

"Monopoly," Maddie groaned.

"He's just askin' for it. He knows that we can't play that game with Aunt Tandy. She's better at it than all of us combined. Plus, I hate that damn game." Rayna frowned.

"You hate that game because you don't win. Dad said that we are playing Deacon rules tonight whatever that means." Maddie put the straw in Jack's juice box.

"It makes the game go faster and more fun. When we lived in that apartment we were broke and we had to find ways to entertain ourselves. That's how Monopoly with Deacon rules got invented." Rayna chuckled.

"I'm sorry that I asked." Maddie shook her head.

"Maddie, pizza or Chinese?" Rayna showed her two different menus.

"Pizza. The little one doesn't like Chinese you know that." Maddie replied.

"One last thing. Ask your sister if she wants a glass of wine. Never mind I will just bring her a glass. I've got one for you too. You're not drinking whiskey like your name is Deacon Jr tonight." Rayna answered her own question.

"Ok, I think that covers it then." Maddie laughed softly.

* * *

"Paul, sit down you don't have to do the dishes. I remember how you do dishes and I would rather you didn't." June tried to stop him from clearing the dinner table.

"You cooked dinner let me clean up. It's the least I can do. I worked in a diner for 'bout a year. I know how to do properly do dishes now." Paul argued with her. The two of them had a standing weekly dinner date.

"I have a dishwasher it's not like you have to wash everythin' by hand. Speakin' of your hands are greasier than I've seen 'em in a long time. What have you been up to?" June asked.

"Rhett bought a motorcycle from a collector and I've had to help him get it unpickeled for lack of a better term." Paul put the dishes in the sink. "There, I won't wash 'em. I cleared the table and now I can say I earned my keep." He gave her a charming smile.

"It's a good thing he has you for a daddy or that would have cost him an arm and a leg. How's he feelin'? I know that Lamar ordered him home to rest until the season opener. He only tells me so much 'cause he doesn't wanna worry me." June replied. "That's more than you did the last fifteen years of our marriage I'll take that."

"He's doin' alright. There really isn't anythin' to worry 'bout. He's bruised up, but I think he coulda played on it. I wasn't even 'round for the most part at the last of our marriage. I wasn't 'round to help, but I damn sure wasn't there to hurt you either." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"That's Lamar bein' overly cautious. Rhett isn't just an investment to him. He genuinely cares for him like a son. He's only tryin' to look out for him." June ignored the last part of his statement. They didn't need to rehash the darker part of their history every time they were together.

"He's my son though, June. It's not my fault that he only has daughters." Paul argued.

"Deacon, I've waited a long time to say this to you and I didn't know if the day would ever come. You need to grow the hell up. Take some damn responsibility for your actions for once in your life. You weren't there for him. Lamar was the first man to treat him like a son. You don't get to be mad 'bout that." June called him by his given name so he'd know that she was serious.

Paul's eyes got big and he looked shocked. He wasn't used to her talking to him that way. He was used to her taking whatever he had to dish out. "Where'd that come from? You've never talked to me like that before. If you had we'd probably still be married."

"You made me strong, Paul. I swore I'd never be anyone's victim again. You needed to hear that. If you want to change things then step up and be his daddy. From where I stand you're takin' a step in the right direction. I don't understand you sometimes. It's obvious that you love your sons deeply, but you've treated them both horribly. The only child you've showed any bit of love or affection to is Beverly. I know that you've been doin' your best to make up for it, but you need to try harder." June stared him down.

"I really wish you'd stood up to me before. I was a coward and I ain't blamin' you, but I did what I did and kept doin' it 'cause you let me. I regret it like hell, 'cause it wasn't always bad and I cherish those times. I'll always love you." Paul retorted.

"We did have some really good times. I didn't stand up for you 'cause I was afraid you'd leave for good and I wouldn't know where you were. I knew that war messed you up and I was tryin' to stand by my man." June gave him a meaningful look. "I made your favorite cobbler for dessert. You wanna eat in here or the livin' room?"

"Let's head to the livin' room. I'm sorry I made things so hard on you." Paul offered her his hand. "Go sit, I can get the cobbler. I know where everythin' is." He went into the kitchen after he helped her to her feet. He carried two plates of cobbler into the living room for them.

"Have you tested your blood sugar today?" June asked him.

"You and Rayna have a club devoted to naggin' me 'bout my diabetes?" Paul sat down across from her.

"Give me your testin' kit. I know from the way you didn't answer that you haven't done it today." June held her hand out.

"I'll be fine if it were too low I'd be woozy and if it were too high I'd be slurrin'. I have it under control these days. I'm off the insulin, but I have some just in case I ever need a maintenance dose." Paul put his hand in hers.

"You know your hands looked like that the night you asked me to dance with you for the first time?" June smiled at the memory.

"I'd just helped daddy fix the tractor and no matter how many times I scrubbed my hands I couldn't get all the grease off 'em. I wanted 'em to be as clean as possible 'cause I was playin' at the barn dance that night." Paul smiled back at her.

"I didn't care what your hands looked like. You were the handsomest man I'd ever seen. I'd had a crush on you for years and you finally noticed me." June replied.

"If you'd sang for me sooner I woulda noticed ya. You sounded like an angel you still do." Paul flirted with her like he always did.

"Do you know what I have in a box in the basement?" June blushed a little.

"What?" Paul didn't even have a guess.

"Your old Marine uniform. I have all of them. Why don't you go try 'em on? I wanna see if they still fit." June suggested.

"In that case, I'll be right back." Paul sat his plate on the coffee table and headed down to the basement.

June got up and put an old country album on the record player.

Paul returned a few minutes later dressed in his olive drab uniform. "It still fits."

"It looks good on you. I thought it would still fit. You've always been in good shape. I don't understand how you're a diabetic." June admired his form.

Paul licked his lips to wet them and held his hands out to her. "May I have this dance, pretty lady?"

"I thought you'd never ask." June put her hand in his. She knew she was playing with fire, but not everything about Paul was bad.

 _Maybe I didn't love you  
Quite as often as I could have  
And maybe I didn't treat you  
Quite as good as I should have  
If I made you feel second best  
Girl I'm sorry I was blind_

Paul gathered her in his arms and started to sway along with the music.

 _You were always on my mind  
You were always on my mind_

June let her guard down and laid her head on his shoulder.

 _And maybe I didn't hold you  
All those lonely, lonely times  
And I guess I never told you  
I'm so happy that you're mine  
Little things I should have said and done  
I just never took the time  
_

 _But you were always on my mind  
You were always on my mind_

Paul rested one of his hands in the small of her back. They danced around her living room like they didn't have a care in the world and like there wasn't a messy and complicated history between them.

 _Tell me  
tell me that your sweet love hasn't died  
And give me  
Give me one more chance  
To keep you satisfied  
I'll keep you satisfied_

Paul sang along softly in her ear. This song said everything he wanted to say better than he could anyway.

June closed her eyes and focused on the sound of his voice in her ear. It had always been one of her favorite things about him.

 _Little things I should have said and done  
I just never took the time_

But you were always on my mind  
You were always on my mind  
You were always on my mind

They were still dancing long after the song had finished. Their eyes locked and a currant of electricity passed between them.

Paul took off his uniform cap and gently put his hand on the back of June's neck. He knew that he needed to be careful with the way he touched her given the damage he'd done to her in the past.

June looked up at him in anticipation her cheeks flushed. She didn't flinch away from his touch. In that moment, those weren't the hands of the man who had beat her within an inch of her life, they were the hands of the man she'd fallen in love with a lifetime ago.

Paul dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers tentatively at first. When he felt her reciprocate he deepened the kiss. He pressed closed to her to reassure that she was safe with him and he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He didn't know what they were doing, but it was nice to live in the moment without giving any thought to what it meant.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I promise that we will be getting to the wedding soon I haven't forgotten. I just don't want to rush it. I'm trying to redeem Paul a little bit. I'd really like to hear your thoughts on that. Until next time please review.


	56. Chapter 56

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 56

Deacon sat in the recliner beside the bed. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before. He couldn't get the wheels in his head to stop turning. For once it wasn't a bad thing though. He had a few ideas for work.

"Uh oh, you look deep in thought. How long have you been up?" Rayna had been watching him for a few minutes. She got out of bed and sat in his lap.

"Since this time yesterday. I was just thinkin'. It's nothin' to worry 'bout. I got some work done. And I had a couple ideas I wanted to run by you." Deacon held her close to him.

"Let me hear 'em." Rayna laid her head on his shoulder.

"I was thinkin' that I wanna do my album launch in Natchez. It's 'bout damn time that I stop runnin' from that place. Not everythin' that happened to me there was bad. I could do a small concert at Maggie's and an album signin'." Deacon told her one of his ideas.

"I think that it's a great idea actually. That's your area right now, set it up." Rayna couldn't fault his logic.

"My other idea has to do with you and this whole world tour thing that you wanna do before we cut back on tourin' for a while. You talked 'bout wantin' to do a concept album. I got this idea from Jimmy. I thought that we could do a dual concept album one from each of our prospective. We could come up with let's say four new duets and put two on each album. Of course, I still want you to do your album this would just be in addition to that." Deacon pitched his other idea.

"I love that idea. I think it would be perfect. I've been workin' on songs for my album and I can work this in too. I have somethin' that I wanna talk to you about too." Rayna replied.

"You should know by now that you can tell me anythin' and we will talk it out." Deacon rubbed his beard against her neck playfully.

Rayna giggled softly. "I was talking to my sister last night and I think she wants to have a baby. I told her that if she decides that's what you she really wants that she can use my eggs. I should have consulted you first and I'm sorry that I didn't. My sister has done so much for me and she makes it possible for us to have the freedom to do what we want with the label and still tour. And lord knows that Buck has covered both our asses more times than I can count."

"We both agreed that we were done after Henry. We have been blessed with this wonderfully big family. Our kids are happy and healthy. Those are your eggs I can't tell you what to do with 'em. We have our babies though. If this is somethin' that you wanna do for your sister I ain't gonna try to stop you. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna give you my blessin'. You only volunteered your eggs and not to carry a baby for her right?" Deacon gave her a look.

"I had a hard enough time with my last pregnancy. She can have all my eggs she wants. I ain't carryin' another baby. The only thing is I may have to go through fertility treatments and that will interfere with our sex life for a little while. I made an appointment with my OBGYN last night. I'm gonna go see what's goin' on and just have it done that way when Tandy decides what I know she's gonna decide she can just get the ball rollin'." Rayna told him.

"You're a good sister, baby. I think we can sacrifice a little sex to do this for them." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

"Says the man who gave his father two thirds of his liver. After momma died Tandy and I were basically all each other had. She's spent her entire adult life takin' care of me I wanna return the favor if I can." Rayna cuddled up with him.

"You ain't gotta explain it to me. I know that family is important to both of us after the shitty childhoods we had. I know how much your sister means to you. I would never do anythin' to keep you from helpin' her out. Don't tell her I said this, but I think she would make a damn good momma." Deacon held her tight.

"You finally forgave her for her role in the Maddie situation didn't you?" Rayna smiled.

"No, that whole situation was unforgivable. It was twenty-seven years ago almost that ya'll made that decision and there are still ramifications from it that 'cause me pain and will for the rest of my life. I just can't ever forgive her for that." Deacon admitted.

"Why could you let me off the hook and marry me, but you can't let it go with anyone else? Is the reason we are so happy because you hold this against my sister?" Rayna looked at him worriedly.

"My grandchildren from Maddie are gonna call some man other than me grandpa and I ain't talkin' 'bout Big Jack. That don't sit well with me. No, I don't hold it against her she was protectin' you and Maddie or at least she thought she was. I can't forgive her, 'cause I don't hold it against the woman who comes and drinks for me when I'm havin' a really hard time or who takes care of my kids when we go outta town. She didn't do it she doesn't need my forgiveness. It's the woman she used to be that I don't forgive. The woman she is now is redeemable and has my forgiveness She has my friendship, hell I consider her my sister not my sister-in-law. It's the same way I got past the shit that Paul did to me and formed a relationship with him." Deacon clarified.

"Just when I think I can't love you anymore you say things like that." Rayna took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. She rubbed against him. "Deacon, fuck me." She whispered breathily in his ear and kissed along his jawline before claiming his lips with hers again.

Deacon didn't even bother getting out of the chair. He worked her pajama pants down and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties.

Rayna lifted her hips and started to work his hard-on out of his boxers.

"Wait, wait," Deacon grabbed her hand. "What time is it? I have a feelin' that those kids are gonna be up any minute."

"Probably because they are gonna be up in four minutes." Rayna rested her forehead against his.

"Shit," Deacon panted.

"We don't have time for this do we?" Rayna groaned.

"Honey, never in our history have I came in four minutes. I can give you an orgasm in three, though." Deacon smirked against her lips.

"I was looking for the full experience and not just the cliff notes version." Rayna replied.

Deacon started to readjust his pants.

"Hold that thought." Rayna reached over and grabbed her phone. "Hey, you at home or the apartment?" She had called Daphne. "Can you do you mother a really huge favor and take your brothers and sister to school today? Your dad and I just need a few extra minutes of sleep." She asked sweetly. "Thank you, baby girl, I love you." She said after Daphne agreed. "Daph is gonna take 'em to school." She reported.

Deacon grinned widely. "How do you want it, babe?"

"Hard, fast, and hot." Rayna stroked him slowly.

Deacon groaned in the back of his throat. "I can make that happen." He slid into her without any warning.

Rayna bit her lip to hold in a moan. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders and rocked her hips against his.

Deacon put his hands on her hips and guided her up and down his shaft. He kissed her feverishly and pulled her shirt over her head. He attached his mouth to her nipple and bit down gently.

Rayna threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged on it. Her mouth was open in a perfect O as she moaned silently.

Deacon snaked one of his hands between their bodies and rubbed her clit. If this was gonna be a quickie he was going to have to work to drive her over the edge twice like normal.

Rayna bounced on his lap quickly.

Deacon thrust up into her on every down stroke driving himself deeper into her.

It didn't take long before Rayna bit down on his shoulder to stifle her moans as her orgasm took over.

Deacon grunted when he felt her walls clamp down around him. He was trying his hardest to be quiet.

Rayna panted against his shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut when her phone rang. She took a moment to compose herself and clamped her hand over Deacon's mouth to keep him quiet. "Hello," She tried to sound as normal as possible when she answered the phone.

Deacon's eyes twinkled with mischief and he ground his pelvis against hers.

Rayna bit her lip and gave him a scolding look. "Don't worry about tryin' to take Jack to preschool. Only your daddy can handle that." She cleared her throat to cover up a moan.

Deacon pinched her nipple.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to lay here a little longer. I have a headache." Rayna's voice cracked.

Deacon took her hand off his mouth and put it against her ear. "Get off the phone, so I can fuck your properly." He whispered. He took her earlobe between his teeth.

"I'll talk to you later, I gotta go." Rayna rushed out and hung up the phone. "You are so bad." She kissed him hard.

Deacon stood up without pulling out of her and put her back against the wall. "Try to be quiet." He whispered harshly. In the heat of the moment his voice took on a husky quality.

Rayna threw her head back and held on for dear life as he started to pound her.

Deacon buried his face in her neck. He bit and sucked at the soft flesh there.

Rayna dug her nails into his biceps. She left long red marks in her wake. "Christ, babe,"

Deacon kissed up her neck, along he jawline, and he stopped at her lips. He pushed his tongue into her mouth.

Rayna sucked on his tongue and squeezed her walls around him. She was trying to push him to the edge.

Deacon pulled his mouth from hers. "Closet or bed?"

"Closet, your closet." Rayna fused her mouth to his again.

Deacon carried her to his closet and laid down on the floor on top of her. He pinned her arms above her head.

Rayna wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her heels into his ass to draw him in deeper. "Oh, fuck! I really needed this."

"You want my come? I'm so there, babe." Deacon kissed her sloppily.

"I do, come for me, babe. I'm there again too." Rayna held on to him tighter.

Deacon's hips became a blur from thrusting so fast. He came with a loud moan.

Rayna's back arched up off the floor and her toes curled as her second orgasm rolled through her.

Afterwards they lay there in each other's arms panting.

"We are absolutely horrible parents when we wanna be." Deacon laughed.

"No, we're not. We are wonderful parents. It's ok that we took time for ourselves. We are with those kids every minute they aren't in school." Rayna laid her head on his chest.

"We did need that, you're right. I'm really glad that these closets are soundproof. We are gonna scar those kids one day." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

Rayna slapped his chest. "We are. That was Daphne on the phone. You know better than to do things like that."

"Hey, not my chest, babe." Deacon reminded.

"Sorry, babe, I forgot you're still tender." Rayna kissed his chest.

"Wanna go again?" Deacon grinned.

"Always," Rayna straddled him.

* * *

"Somethin' sure smells good in here." Paul walked into June's kitchen pulling his shirt on.

"I thought you may need some breakfast." June turned around and smiled at him.

"What I could use right now is some coffee." Paul placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"I put coffee on first thing. I know it's been awhile, but I still remember your habits." June leaned back against him out of habit.

"So, are we gonna eat or talk 'bout what happened last night first?" Paul put his hands on her hips.

"Is this somethin' we have to make a big deal outta? We are two grown people who used to be married to each other enjoyin' each other's company. We don't have to make anythin' more complicated than it needs to be." June replied.

"What if I wanna make a big deal outta it?" Paul asked.

"Paul, let it be easy and uncomplicated. There is so much water under the bridge with us. I'd have to be crazy to let myself get into somethin' serious with you again." June gave him a look.

"So, what? I'm just supposed to be your backup for when Lamar is too busy to be bothered with ya?" Paul frowned.

"That's not fair and you know it. First of all, Lamar is just my friend. We share grandchildren it helps if we can get along. Second of all, you should think 'bout why we got divorced in the first place. The shit that you used to do isn't gonna fly with me anymore. I won't be with the Paul that gets mean and drunk. The Paul that showed up last night is the one I fell in love with. If you can be that man we can take things slow and see where we end up." June laid her terms out.

"That's fair enough I can do that. I like this new side of you." Paul agreed.

"I told you last night I won't be a man's victim ever again. Oh, and if you wanna date me publicly I'm gonna need you to ask my boys' permission. That means Deacon and Rhett. If we're gonna do this we're gonna do it properly. I don't wanna go sneakin' 'round. I'm too old for that." June laid down the law.

Paul laughed a little bit. "You know, Rose would really like that refer to him as yours. She'd be happy to know that he still has a momma's love. She was the only woman that never kicked me to the curb for my drinkin'. She got rid of me 'cause she found out I was married. She was more worried 'bout it than I was. She got down right indignant that I let her do that to another woman."

"He needs all the love he can get. The minute I found out 'bout him I started givin' her some of the money that Deacon John sent me to help take care of Rhett. How many mistresses did you have?" June shook her head at him.

"I don't think you really wanna know the answer to that question. I will tell you that Rose lasted the longest out of any of 'em. I'm also fairly certain she's the only one I got pregnant." Paul informed her.

"Did you love her? I met her and talked to her. I could see where you could have fallen in love with her. I love her son dearly. He's a good man that right there tells me all I need to know 'bout her." June asked him.

"I was a messed up man back then, June. But, yeah, I did love her. Not the way I love you though. I haven't always shown it the way that I should, but I love you more than I can say." Paul cupped her cheek gently.

"Good. I'm glad that you said that. I was hopin' you didn't just take her for granted." June put her hand on top of his.

"Listen, I gotta get over to Rhett's after breakfast, but I was thinkin' we could try dinner tonight." Paul replied.

"I would like that." June agreed.

"I love you, pretty lady." Paul kissed her softly.

"God help me, I love you too, Paul." June replied.

* * *

Sadie sat at the kitchen counter with a letter in her hands. She was looking at the words on the page, but she wasn't really seeing them.

"Was I gone so long I missed the mail man?" Rhett came in from taking the kids to school.

Sadie continued to sit there like she hadn't heard him.

"Babe," Rhett tried to get her attention again. "Sadie," His voice got louder.

Sadie blinked her eyes like she was coming out from under a trance. "Hey, I didn't hear ya come in." She forced a smile.

"I tried talkin' to ya, but you seemed to be in a zone." Rhett looked at her worriedly.

"I was in a zone. We've been together long enough that I can tune you out." Sadie retorted.

"Ok, what's wrong? You ain't actin' right. I know you, babe." Rhett crossed his arms.

"Look at this." Sadie handed him the letter.

Rhett took it and he could see from the letter head that it was from the Tennessee Department of Corrections. "Why are you gettin' mail from the DOC?"

"They let Pete outta prison. They didn't even let me know that he was up for parole." Sadie buried her face in her hands.

Rhett put his arms around her. "Hey, everythin' is gonna be ok. I'm here now you have me. I ain't gonna let him hurt you. He will never put his hands on you again."

"I'm not just worried about me. Pete will do whatever he can to hurt me. That's not limited to hittin' me. After the way things went the last time I saw him I know that he has a score to settle. I wouldn't put it past him to do somethin' to one of the kids." Sadie's eyes filled with tears.

"That would be the worst mistake he ever made in his life. I would kill for those kids. I'm related to a few crazy ass men. My daddy was on the phone with a supply clerk at the auto parts store yesterday and he told him that he'd been to prison and he wasn't afraid to go back. That should give you an idea of what you have in your corner." Rhett reassured her.

"Honey, you don't understand men like him. Your momma raised a good, kind man. You aren't capable of doin' the things that he is. You would never dream of doin' the things that he's done. I can't help bein' worried. I'm not sayin' that you won't do everythin' in your power to protect us. I'm sayin' it may not be enough. If anythin' happened to you because of the man I was married to a lifetime ago I would never be able to forgive myself." Sadie leaned into him.

"Not gonna happen, baby. I'm a Claybourne fist fights are kinda an art for us." Rhett joked a little.

"We are champions of bare knuckle boxin'." Paul walked in.

"Who gave him a key?" Rhett groaned.

"I did," Sadie smiled thinly.

"You ready to get to work, Sadie?" Paul clapped his hands.

"Paul, do you mind if I cancel on you today?" Sadie just wasn't feeling up to songwriting.

"My time is your time you can do whatever you want. I'll go if you want me to go, but you're gonna have to tell me why you're so upset." Paul could tell just by looking at her that something wasn't right.

"My ex-husband got out of prison." Sadie told him.

"Then I ain't givin' ya the day off. We need to get your emotions down on paper while they're still raw. That son of a bitch comes 'round here I'll kill him. I've been in prison too I ain't scared to go back. Shit, I'd probably serve less time for killin' him than I did for almost killin' June." Paul looked down at his hands.

"How did you serve so long?" Rhett asked him.

"I served five years and I got out on parole. I violated my parole by trackin' down your sister's ex-husband and beatin' the shit outta him. I got time tacked on to my sentence for that. I'd probably still be in if I hadn't gotten sick. I'm was a son of a bitch, but I still had my principles." Paul answered him.

"Did prison change you or did it just make you more determined to do the thing that got you in trouble to begin with?" Sadie's voice was barely above a whisper.

"It made me sorry for what I did. I was sober and I regretted what I did. I could see how far off the reservation I'd gone. Of course, the minute I got out I started drinkin' again. Drinkin' makes me a person I don't even recognize. Almost dyin' is what changed me. I realized that if I wanted some shot at forgiveness I had to become a better person." Paul put his hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't know that you'd been out before you got out the last time." Rhett observed.

"I wasn't out long." Paul shrugged.

"But you went back in for an understandable reason." Rhett replied.

"Paul, I think you're right. I think that now is a good time to write." Sadie changed the subject.

"I'm ready any time you are." Paul gave her a smile.

* * *

"I'm not supposed to be working. What am I doing here?" Bucky sat in the conference room. The video screen had been set up.

"When are you gonna realize that you don't ever wanna know?" Tandy squeezed his hand.

"You have so little faith in us." Deacon grinned.

"I've known you long enough to know that I shouldn't have faith in you." Bucky retorted.

"I'll just start this video before this situation gets outta control." Rayna picked up the remote and turned on the video.

The Highway 65 logo flashed on the screen before Rayna appeared.

" _What can you tell us about the first time that you met?" MJ's voice was heard off screen._

" _The first time I met him I was really young probably seventeen or eighteen. I'd had bad experiences before and I was cautious. I realized right away that I didn't need to be. This guy was different than all the other guys he was gonna protect me and make sure that no one took advantage of me. From that first meetin' he felt like family." Rayna answered._

 _Deacon appeared on screen next. "Now, this is a bone of contention between Ms. I'm Never Wrong and me, but this time I'm right. The first time I met Bucky I was twenty. The first thing he ever said that was directed toward me was to Ray. He told her that she needed to get her two puppies on a leash and make sure that they were housebroken. He was talkin' 'bout me and Vince. I knew right away that he was gonna fit in just fine."_

 _Maddie and Daphne sat side by side on the video._

" _For us he's just always been around. He's Uncle Bucky he's my Godfather. I can't remember a time that he hasn't been there for mom." Maddie said._

" _Right, when we were little he used to watch us stage side while mom performed. She always told us don't give your Uncle Bucky a hard time that's my job." Daphne added._

" _If I'm remembering correctly the first time that I met Bucky was at some ridiculous hole in the wall bar that my sister was playing in. He had more hair back then that's for sure. I liked him right away and that's rare for me. But I saw that he took good care of my sister and that was a big deal for me." Tandy smiled._

"You guys what is this?" Bucky looked a little lost.

"Baby, just watch the video and shut up." Tandy advised him.

" _Bucky does a lot around the label. How does he make your life easier?" MJ asked._

" _How doesn't he make my life easier? He's my manager, my head of A and R, my voice of reason. He has cleaned up every mess I've ever made and never threatened to quit on me." Rayna laughed._

" _He listens to my wife bitch, so I don't have to. And back in the old days he paid off quite a few hotels to keep them from pressin' charges after Vince and I had gotten a little too wild." Deacon had a rueful grin on his face._

" _It's not in his job description, but he's a pretty good babysitter." Scarlett chuckled._

" _I'm pretty sure that he sees our kids more than we do when we're in the studio." Gunnar arched his eyebrow._

" _He puts up with my diva antics and he hasn't killed me for them yet. He's come over to my house in the middle of the night just to listen to a song for me." Juliette relayed._

" _I was knee deep in dirty diapers and baby drool and Bucky personally came by my place and told me either get my ass in the studio or he was making me pay for my own producer. It gave me the jumpstart I needed to get in gear." Avery recalled._

" _I'm reasonably sure that Bucky has kept me out of jail more times than I wanna admit to. What can I say? I get a little too wild on tour." Casey shrugged her shoulders._

" _He cleans up the messes my fiancé makes so I'm free to focus on makin' music. He also gave me my first job as a roadie back when I was livin' in a two-bedroom apartment with four other guys." JC laughed._

" _When I first came out instead of dumpin' me on my ass he told me I better pick out a single that I liked or he was gonna do it for me and I would have to live with it." Will rubbed his chin._

" _Since I'm about to get pretty heavy I'll lighten the mood first. What happened to Bucky's hair?" MJ asked._

" _Tandy without a doubt happened to Bucky's hair. He should be made a saint for puttin' up with that woman." Casey answered._

"I know she didn't just blame me." Tandy scoffed.

"It's Casey what more did you expect?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

" _I think we've all contributed just a little bit to his hair loss. We don't make things easy on him that's for sure." Avery chuckled._

" _It was the women on this label. I'm pretty sure his bald spots are named after each of these damn divas." JC's eyes sparkled with mischief._

" _My husband seems to think that I can't admit fault. I'll prove him wrong yet again. It is absolutely my fault that Bucky lost his hair. The things I have put that man through it's a miracle goin' bald is the only thing that's happened to him." Rayna freely admitted._

" _Rayna that woman is enough to give a woodpecker a headache on a good day. I won't lay all the blame on her though I contributed to his baldness probably just as much as she did. Neither of us disputes that. We've put Bucky through a lot." Deacon grinned._

" _How is that even a question? My sister without a doubt is the reason he lost his hair." The look on Tandy's face said everything that she thought about that._

Bucky ran his hand over the top of his head. "I'm hanging on to this last patch of hair by a thread. It's a miracle I still have it."

"I ain't gonna argue that." Deacon laughed.

" _I'm pretty sure that mom and dad happened to Uncle Bucky's hair." Maddie looked at her sister and laughed._

" _I'm more than pretty sure I'm positive. I've heard stories and unlike you I know how to use google." Daphne rolled her eyes._

"Those are my girls. Always fightin' 'bout somethin'." Deacon observed.

"They are always fighting about something." Rayna nodded her head.

" _What does Bucky mean to you?" MJ moved on._

" _I don't think there are words for that. Bucky and I have been through wars together. A self-destructive alcoholic boyfriend, two quickie marriages, pregnancies, multiple image crises, a broken engagement, startin' a label from the ground up together, a whole paternity mishap, and too many other things to list. I love him dearly and he knows that even if I don't always get the chance to say it to him. I wouldn't be able to do my job without him by my side. No matter what I throw at him he always rises to the occasion for me. I've been able to count on him when I couldn't count on anyone else. When somethin' goes wrong with the label he's the first person I call. He's more than a manager to me and he has been for a long time. He's my brother. I thought of him that way before he married my sister. I can't think of a thing I've gone through since I met him that he wasn't by my side." Rayna got teary eyed._

" _I'm gonna tell you a story I ain't ever told anyone before. When my best friend died, I was in bad shape for a long time. I went into a downward spiral that I almost didn't come out of. Bucky tracked me down in a bar one night. I'd been on a binge for days and I was in a horrible place. He sat down next to me and didn't say a word. He took the drink outta my hand and I'll never forget the words he said to me. He said 'Deacon, this isn't gonna fix anythin'. This isn't the way that you honor Vince. You don't stay down the dark path that he was on. He wouldn't want that for you. You two were closer than any brothers that I've ever met. I know you lost your confidant the one person that you could talk to when you couldn't talk to anyone else. Let me be that person for you now. Pick up the phone and call me before you pick up the bottle. I'll always do what I can for you. You may have lost your brother, but you still have your better half. Right now, she's worried sick and waitin' on ya.' He paid my tab and he took me home. It took awhile for what he said to me to sink in, but I won't ever forget the kindness he showed me when I needed it the most. I don't think I ever thanked him for that." Deacon's voice broke._

" _Bucky is my prince charming. Women like me aren't supposed to land incredible guys like him. I'm focused and driven to a fault. A lot of people find that cold and unlovable, but not my Bucky. He loves me despite my faults. He loves me even though I spent years keeping him at arm's length. For the longest time I couldn't even call him my boyfriend. I couldn't let myself love him the way that I knew I did. He was ok with that, he let me take my time. He is the perfect man in every way. I can't even begin to say what I love the most about him. He loves my baby sister maybe more than I do. He loves me like I have never been loved before. He takes care of everyone without thinking of himself. He's there for everyone and he doesn't know how to let anyone be there for him. He's the most loving, giving man that I know. I wasn't used to that I'm still not, but I don't know where I'd be without him." Tandy wiped away a few tears._

Rayna picked up the remote and turned the video off when the screen went dark.

Bucky put his face in his hands and then looked up his eyes clouded with tears. "Wow, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anythin'. You just have to get well." Deacon reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

"I'm gonna fight like hell. How can I leave when I have people who care about me that much?" Bucky smiled at him a little.

"They wanted to do something nice for you because of all you do for them." Rayna explained to him.

"Well, that was just about perfect." Bucky wiped his eyes.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	57. Chapter 57

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 57

"You got a minute?" Rayna stood in the doorway of Deacon's office.

Deacon checked the time on his phone. "Yeah, I've got exactly ten minutes carved out for you right now. I believe we have an appointment to keep." He spun around in his desk chair.

Rayna walked over and perched herself on the edge of his desk. "Here you go," She handed him a hypodermic needle and a vial.

"Today is the last day for this right?" Deacon filled the syringe and then made sure that there were no air bubbles in it.

Rayna used an alcohol pad to sterilize a spot on her stomach. "That's right I'm having the procedure done tomorrow. You are takin' me and pickin' me up. They said that I'm gonna be pretty outta it for a few hours afterwards. I thought I could sleep it off at your old place. I don't want the kids to see me like that and ask questions that I rather not answer."

Deacon quickly gave her the shot and he winced. "I'm sorry if that hurt, babe. I'm glad that we never had to go through all this to get pregnant. You are gonna go home where I can take care of you. We can just tell the kids that you ain't feelin' well."

"That sounds like a better idea. You don't have the most comfortable bed. I'm kinda lookin' forward to havin' you wait on me hand and foot. And the no sex thing kinda has to go on a little while longer unless you wanna get me pregnant again." Rayna pulled her shirt back down.

"Babe, you are one hell of a woman and a damn good sister, but you're killin' me here. For us this is torture." Deacon groaned.

"It's only 'cause I'm really fertile right now. We can't risk it before the procedure because we don't wanna get pregnant before egg retrieval. After it's not as big of an issue, but we will have to be careful." Rayna explained to him.

"Is this your way of tellin' me that we are gonna have to use condoms if we wanna have sex? Darlin', I gotta tell ya we were never that great 'bout usin' condoms." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"That's exactly what I'm sayin', lover. We could have some fun, I think we are pretty creative that way." Rayna bit her lip and grinned.

"These hormones are makin' you crazy, woman." Deacon shook his head.

"As I recall that was always your favorite part of me bein' pregnant." Rayna teased him.

"Not fair, baby. You can't say things like that when I can't do anythin' 'bout it." Deacon sucked in a sharp breath of air.

Rayna laughed softly. "Don't forget that we have that dinner tonight. I would appreciate it if you could get your work done in a timely manner, so we can get out of here early."

"I'm tryin' my best to get outta here early. I'll be so glad for Buck to get back. I'm arrangin' this trip to Natchez and it is a pain in the ass. I got it all done finally. I shouldn't have too much more to take care of today." Deacon replied.

"Bucky has been doin' this for a lot longer than either of us have. He has contacts and a vast network of relationships that we can't rival. He does the real work we just make the music." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Don't I know it?" Deacon chuckled.

Sadie stepped into his office. "Hey, Deacon,"

"Sadie, what are you doing here?" Rayna questioned her.

"Little Sister, I see you don't understand what I closed door is for." Deacon teased her lightly.

"Blame it on your father I learned from him. He strolls into my house whenever he feels like it and tells me it's time to get to work." Sadie retorted.

"Are you gettin' shit done though?" Deacon asked her.

"Yeah, we just got into the studio. Paul wouldn't let me do it without him. He said he needed to be there to supervise." Sadie told him.

"So, you came here to tell me that Paul is a pain in the ass?" Deacon looked confused.

"No, I actually came to see Rayna. They told me she was in here. I could have done without seein' you today." Sadie replied.

"What do you need?" Rayna asked.

"I need the name of a good bodyguard. Pete got out of prison and since then he's been harassing me. I went through the proper channels and I have another restraining order against him. I just don't want to take any chances with the kids. I know if Rhett gets ahold of him he'll kill him. I'm not so sure that Paul wouldn't if given the chance. He's already said he's not scared to go back to prison." Sadie explained.

"I can call Jimmy and ask him to recommend someone. He's in the army and he knows guys that moonlight as security." Rayna told her. She sent a text to her soon to be son-in-law.

"If Paul said he was gonna kill someone take him at his word. He is very capable of it. Never mind that he used my momma as a punchin' bag, I once saw him beat one of his drinkin' buddies within an inch of his life for damn near forcin' himself on her. I'd hate to see what he'd do to someone for doin' somethin' to one of his girls." Deacon added.

"I know I'm a little late asking this, but is it safe for him to be around my kids?" Sadie's eyes got big.

"As long as he's not drinkin' those kids aren't gonna be any safer than with him. He's fiercely protective of 'em. That's a tough old son of a bitch." Deacon's voice held a hint of admiration.

"He's right and if you don't believe that just look at him. They are very similar. Deacon is the reason I never had a bodyguard. I didn't need one with him around." Rayna checked her phone. "Jimmy is on his way over. He said that he knows just the person for you."

"Thanks, Rayna, I really appreciate this." Sadie smiled at her.

"You're like a sister to me of course I'm gonna do what I can." Rayna waved off her thanks.

* * *

"Mad Max, where's that wife of yours?" Amy asked from across the table.

"I don't know. She just told me to catch a ride here with Freakin' Deacon and she would drive me home." Max checked his watch.

"Hailey got stuck in court later than she thought she would be. I just talked to her she will be here any minute." JC informed his brother-in-law.

"She tells you more than she tells me." Max shrugged his shoulders.

"She tells him more than she tells you because he's never gotten left by a tour bus." Maddie laughed at him.

"Your daddy an asshole when he wants to be that's why. Leavin' me once would be an accident. It happens all the damn time. The only thing worse than bein' the princess's bandleader is bein' his bandleader." Max defended himself.

"Shut up, Max." Rayna and Deacon told him at the same time.

"It's nice to know that some things never change." Amy chuckled.

"Who is the princess?" Phil asked confused.

"It's what everyone not so secretly called Rayna behind her back. Vince called her that to her face all the time." Amy explained to her husband.

"They knew I hated it so they did it to piss me off. My band doesn't do that anymore. Only Max does it and only because I've known him so long I just let him get away with it. He was in my original band." Rayna supplied helpfully.

"To be fair that's just how you and Vince communicated with each other." Deacon joked.

"See, Cricket, I told you it's in my nature to be a shit disturber." JC grinned.

"James, asking the contractor fifty million stupid questions is not being a shit disturber it's being counterproductive." Maddie glared at him.

"In my experience nothin' brings my mood down quite like the wife usin' my given name." JC wasn't helping himself in that situation.

"She's not your wife yet. You better watch out before you make her change her mind." Hailey sat down. "Sorry I'm late. Court was horrible and then so was traffic."

"I know that feelin', Jimmy. Nothin' quite strikes fear in my heart like her sayin' Maxwell." Max backed him up.

"Max, you gotta learn to play that off, brother. I have an excuse to ignore Ray when she says Deacon John. I have a son with the same name." Deacon advised him.

"Deac is way better behaved than you are. You should know that I'm talking to you nine times out of ten. If I'm yelling at him it's Deacon John Claybourne Jr. You also act like I get mad at you so often." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I'm inclined to agree. There's just something about your wife or your momma calling you by your full name. I hear Phillip leave her mouth and I'm trying to think of what I could have done. I hear Andrew I run because I know I pissed her off." Phil sided with the other guys.

"If Maddie says James Clay I don't worry too much, she's only slightly annoyed. If she yells out JC I book it. She only calls me JC when she's really mad." JC sipped his drink.

"I've been in trouble for damn near the last forty years. We mostly bicker we don't have serious fights." Deacon kissed Rayna's cheek.

"Because I can't stay mad at him when he's that sweet." Rayna leaned against him.

"How is your house coming?" Amy asked.

"It didn't have to be gutted thank God. It's gonna be a fast and cheap renovation. We will be able to move in soon. I'm having a studio put in and that's what's gonna take the longest." Maddie fielded that question.

"What time does you contractor start to work in the mornin'? I swear that work crew wakes me up before my alarm can go off." Deacon gave her a look.

"The crew doesn't start until nine at the earliest. I told them that because you're such a light sleeper. That's probably the crew that's redoing the barn for our wedding." Maddie replied.

"AKA me and MJ when I can drag him out of bed that early. Jack Henry helps sometimes. Which, by the way I steal your kid when he catches me sneakin' into the house." JC clarified.

"I'm not so sure you steal him. He adores you he's not letting you out of his sight if he can help it. Anyway, you two have a cake tasting to go to tomorrow and I forgot to tell you." Rayna made a face.

"If this is as bad as that florist's appointment you made me go to I'm gonna be so mad." Maddie groaned.

"This is what happens when you wanna be Cinderella and have a fairytale weddin'." Rayna pointed out to her.

"Is it too late to elope?" JC asked.

"Yeah, Jimmy, it's way past time for that. I'll have you hunted down if you even think about it." Hailey warned him.

"Your words to me were you didn't care as long as it made me happy. Now you gotta deal with it." Maddie smirked at him.

* * *

"Babe, the next time I get the bright idea to do something that requires medical intervention on behalf of my sister stop me." Rayna moved toward the bed gingerly.

Deacon pulled back the covers for her and helped her get in. "You know as well as I do that there's no talkin' you outta anythin' once your mind is made up. Get some sleep, so you can get those drugs outta your system. You've been talkin' crazy to me the whole way home."

"Well, try harder next time. Maybe everyone is right I am a princess and I can't deal with pain. I'm gonna sleep for six months." Rayna grumbled.

"Tell me where you keep my Vicodin and I'll get you one. I have to run out to the pharmacy and get yours." Deacon propped some pillows up behind her back and turned the tv on for her.

"You really are sober. You haven't tried to look for them. They are in my nightstand. They have been since you've got them." Rayna mumbled.

Deacon opened the drawer and found the pill bottle. He shook a pill out and handed it to her. "Take that," He opened a bottle of water and held it up to her lips.

Rayna tilted her head back and swallowed the pill. "Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome, you just get some rest. I'm gonna run to the pharmacy fast and I will be right back." Deacon kissed her forehead.

Rayna reached out and grabbed his arm. "Don't go yet. Stay with me until I fall asleep. I always feel safe with you."

Deacon toed his boots off and crawled into bed next to her. "I'll be right here for as long as you want me to be. I ain't goin' anywhere." He took her in his arms gently. He didn't want to hurt her by holding her too hard.

"If I had my way I would never leave your side." Rayna snuggled into his chest.

"I feel the same way, babe." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

It didn't take long before Rayna was sound asleep on his chest.

Deacon went to move and she clung to him tighter. He laughed softly. "Ok, I'll stay here then."

Maddie wandered in a little while later. "Dad," She called out softly.

"Hey, Princess," Deacon smiled at her.

"I saw your truck and mom's car both in the driveway. It's the middle of the day. I wanted to come by and make sure that everythin' was ok. I was up at the house meeting with the contractor." Maddie replied.

"Listen to you droppin' the G's off your words like a real southern girl. I didn't think that'd ever happen with you." Deacon teased her.

"You're avoiding the question I just asked you." Maddie called him out.

"Your momma is just a little under the weather. Nothin' for you to worry 'bout." Deacon didn't outright lie to her.

"Does this have anything to do with why she wasn't drinking at dinner last night? Dad, I know the signs with her. She's been hormonal, secretive, and not drinking. Is she pregnant?" Maddie came out asked.

"Keep your voice down and come in here. Have a seat, kid." Deacon pointed to the recliner.

"Did you guys plan this? Why didn't you tell me?" Maddie questioned.

"Relax, she's not pregnant. Do you remember a conversation that you momma and Aunt Tandy had a couple weeks ago? I know that you walked in on 'em talkin'. Your momma tells me everythin'. She had her eggs harvested 'cause she knows that your Aunt Tandy is really gonna go through with this baby thing." Deacon explained to her.

"Does she realize how hard she makes it on her daughters to be great women? She's really a lot to live up to." Maddie smiled softly.

"Ya'll ain't gotta be her. She's happy with ya'll the way you are. She's so proud of all you kids. As much as she babies Jack Henry, you're her pride and joy. You are her first baby. Ya'll butt heads all the time, but you are so much like her sometimes. I know that you'd do the same damn thing for either one of your sisters." Deacon replied.

"I'm not big on pain. I don't think I could handle that. All I want to do is make her proud of me. The fact that I know I push her away and she'll push back is how I know it's ok for me to do the things I do." Maddie leaned back into the recliner. "This chair is really comfortable. I'm surprised she lets you keep it in here."

"She is in a lot of pain right now. I need to get to the pharmacy and get her prescriptions, but she is stuck to me like a barnacle. I expect her to make me move that recliner any day now. I'm surprised she's let me keep it this long." Deacon ran his hand through Rayna's hair.

"Did the doctor call them into the pharmacy or do you have a paper prescription for her? I ask because Jimmy is in town right now and he can pick it up." Maddie asked.

"The doctor called it in. It's on the family account." Deacon answered her.

"So, it's under Rayna Claybourne and not Rayna Jaymes." Maddie pulled out her phone and texted JC.

"Right, she gets her prescriptions under her married name." Deacon confirmed.

"Where are all the kids?" Maddie asked.

"The older three have after school stuff today. The baby is spendin' time with Aunt Dottie. If you and Jimmy don't mind takin' 'em all out to dinner, so I can get your momma a little more alert that would be so helpful." Deacon replied.

"Of course, daddy, we don't mind at all. You need to get her leveled out, so the little ones don't know anything is going on. You can call me when it's ok to bring them back. Jimmy is going to get her medicine now." Maddie reassured him.

"I got damn lucky to have kids as good as ya'll are. You are such a big help." Deacon winked at her.

"I will have Jimmy bring some food with him that way you won't have to cook. Dad, you do everything for us. I don't mind helping out." Maddie told him.

"I love you, kiddo." Deacon smiled.

"I love you too, daddy." Maddie replied.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Deacon, my sister isn't at the office or any of her other hangouts she better be here playing hooky with you. If not we have a huge problem." Tandy came in after Maddie had left.

"Jesus Christ, Tandy, why do you have to be so loud?" Rayna groaned.

"Have you been day drinking again? You sound like crap. We've talked about this. You can't go day drinking whenever you feel like it." Tandy lectured her.

"I haven't been day drinkin'. I just had some stuff done and I am in pain. The sedative they gave me wore off." Rayna shifted in bed to get comfortable.

"I think now would be a good time for me to go downstairs and leave ya'll alone to talk." Deacon excused himself from the room quickly.

"He was less thrilled to see me than normal." Tandy crawled into bed next to her sister.

"He's been a champ today cut him some slack. What are doin' here?" Rayna turned to look at her.

"I came to talk to you. My husband finally wore me down and got me to see that having kids wouldn't ruin our lives. I was hoping that the offer you made me still stands. That's only if it's not gonna mess anything up for you. If it's gonna cause trouble between you and Deacon I don't want you to do this." Tandy reached over and took her hand.

"I'm all loopy and sound like I've been day drinkin' because I already did it. I knew that you were gonna change your mind. I know that you like to move full steam ahead. I wanted things to be ready when you were." Rayna smiled.

"Babe, I don't know what to say. I don't know how to thank you." Tandy squeezed her hand.

"You don't have to thank me. We are sisters this is the stuff we do for each other. You kept Maddie's paternity a secret for me I can let you have a few eggs that I'm not usin'. I know that you're gonna be a great momma. Or at least I know that you're gonna do the best you know how and that's all we can do. I fly by the seat of my pants most days." Rayna leaned against her.

"I'm scared that I'm too much like daddy to be a good parent." Tandy admitted.

"You're hard and that's a fact, but you do know how to show love. You'll never be the emotional, expressive person that I am. That kid will never not know that they are loved though. Between you and Bucky that kid will have so much love. That's why you have a partner to share the work with you. You'll be fine." Rayna assured her.

"I love you so much you are the best baby sister in the world. How bad do you feel right now?" Tandy kissed her cheek.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck. These are the worst cramps I've ever had." Rayna frowned a little.

"I wish you would have told me. I could have been with you today and taken care of you." Tandy sighed at her stubbornness.

"Deacon has taken good care of me. He's been in bed with me all day. Maddie may have been here earlier I can't swear to it though. I was really loopy from the sedative." Rayna informed her.

"Loopy doesn't cover what you were earlier. I have medicine for you and Maddie brought you some of that soup you love so much." Deacon carried a tray into the room.

"Sweetie, you are so good to me." Rayna smiled up at him.

"Just returnin' the favor, babe. Now, you ain't eatin' in my bed get in this chair." Deacon grinned back at her.

Rayna groaned and tried to sit up. "Oh, that hurts like hell."

"Here, babe, let me help you." Tandy helped her sit up. "Why don't you go do something with yourself? I can take care of my sister just as well as you can." She took the tray from him.

"Ya'll wanna chase me outta here don't ya? You wanna talk 'bout girly things and things I've heard more than enough 'bout for one day." Deacon chuckled.

Rayna had him bend over and she put her hands on his face. "Honey, I'm lettin' you off the hook for a little while. You've been so attentive and perfect today. I know that you've heard way more than you wanna know about certain things. I love you, but go feed the horses or walk the dog, or whatever it is you do for an hour every night that you think I don't know 'bout."

"Elvis is either cooped up in the office all day or he's here alone all day. We do a lap 'round the upper property every night to clear our heads." Deacon pecked her lips.

"She thinks you're smoking again, buddy, that's the info she's fishing for." Tandy told him.

"I can't smoke ever again not after that surgery I just had. I need a cigarette now worse than I've needed one in a long time. You should see the tops of my pens at the office. I've chewed the hell outta 'em. I don't have Bucky's patience." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"I don't think you're smokin' again. Those are the crazy ideas that my sister gets in her head." Rayna clarified.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna leave ya'll to talk 'bout the things that I don't really wanna know 'bout, but I do." Deacon replied.

"Deacon, wait," Tandy got his attention.

"Yeah?" Deacon looked over his shoulder.

"Thank you. I know that she wouldn't have done this without your blessing." Tandy thanked him.

"We are family you needed help I wasn't gonna say no." Deacon shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room.

"He's a man of few words." Tandy observed.

"He said what he had to say and he was done." Rayna laughed a little.

"I just said something nice to him and he acted like it rolled off his shoulders." Tandy replied.

"He isn't one to get all sentimental with many people other than me or the kids. You and him have this contentious relationship and you probably always will." Rayna told her.

"That's true. So, tell me everything about this procedure that you had done." Tandy changed the subject.

"What do you wanna know?" Rayna asked her.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	58. Chapter 58

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 58

"This is Maddie's damn weddin' I don't understand why I have to do all this bullshit. We gotta be on a plane to Natchez in the mornin'." Deacon grumbled in Rayna's ear. They were waiting in the entrance of the country club.

"Shh, be nice. I know that you hate comin' to the club, but this is for our daughter. You don't wanna do this and I don't wanna do this, but this was the bright idea that Maddie had. If it makes her life easier then I'm not gonna complain too much." Rayna elbowed him in the side.

"I'm gonna complain. I think this is a horrible idea and I tried tellin' her that. You know Paul, you know that there is no tellin' what he's gonna do. He has no filter on his mouth." Deacon stressed.

"He will behave. I gave him his last rites earlier and I did the same thing with daddy. It's a couple hours I think that we will be able to make it through." Rayna assured him.

"Speakin' of unpredictable my parents just showed up together." Deacon pointed to June and Paul.

"Those are your parents. He's easier to handle if he comes with her then he is more likely to behave. Don't try to understand 'em lord knows that I don't." Rayna tried to make him feel better. "Hey, handsome, look at you. I didn't know you cleaned up so well." She adjusted Paul's tie for him.

"I've spoken to my granddaughter she knows that she owes me for this. I save this suit for court and funerals." Paul grumbled.

"Paul," June scolded him.

Deacon had to laugh a little at that. "It's good to know that he's honest. A man needs three sets of clothes. His work clothes, his church clothes, and his goin' out clothes."

"Big Deacon wisdom at its finest. Along with a man only needs so much money to live on the rest is just for showin' off and lord knows I'd like to have some to show off." Paul laughed.

"Or a man better die in the saddle with his boots on or in his sleep when he's a wrinkled up old man." Deacon replied.

"Then there was if your work doesn't show on your hands you're not doin' it right." Paul added.

"Babe, that's the same stuff you tell the boys all the time." Rayna smiled.

"I don't even realize that I do it. I'm sure that I've probably given a ton of advice over the years that I got from him." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Thank God that ya'll are here. Big Jack and Lamar are already huddled up talkin' business. If anyone can get those two back on track it's ya'll. Come on, I'll show you to our table." JC came out and grabbed them.

"Is my daddy playing master of the universe again?" Rayna asked.

"I was under the impression that he never stopped playin' master of the universe." JC retorted.

"He doesn't you should try playin' cards with him. He does not handle losin' well." June scoffed.

"Someone needs to make you a saint for the men that you put up with." Rayna shook her head.

"Before this weddin' is over I'm gonna be a candidate for sainthood myself." Deacon spoke lowly when he caught sight of Teddy and his mother.

"Deacon John, behave yourself, son." June warned him.

"I plan on it, momma." Deacon reassured her.

"This is one of those times that I'm really thankful that I can drink." Rayna sighed.

"Mom, dad, there you guys are. I was starting to think that you weren't gonna show." Maddie hugged both her parents.

"Blame your mother. You know how she is." Deacon kissed her cheek.

"This time you can blame your baby brother. It took some doing to get him to let me out of his sight." Rayna placed the blame on Jack.

"Sure, blame the baby. You don't take hours to get ready or anything." Maddie teased her.

"You shouldn't act like you aren't the same way." JC stepped up behind her. He kissed her cheek and put a drink in her hand.

"You don't get to complain. I've seen how long it takes you to do your hair." Maddie leaned back against him.

"I need a haircut and someone won't let me get one 'til after our weddin'. You also wouldn't let me wear my cowboy hat." JC reminded her.

"Because someone likes to shave his head and I don't want wedding pictures with a skinhead. You are gonna lose all your hair if you don't take that hat off every now and then. You keep the damn thing on our bed post." Maddie argued with him.

"I told you before we ever started datin' I take that hat off for three things. Kissin', showerin', and by the way you're blushin' right now you can guess what that third thing is." JC grinned.

"You told me that in Memphis. That seems like a million years ago now. I asked you to take your hat off and you did." Maddie smiled.

"Was this the night that we let ya'll wander 'round Memphis unsupervised?" Deacon asked them.

"That would be the same night. I'm surprised that you remember." Maddie answered.

"You let a sixteen-year-old walk around Memphis alone with a boy she clearly had intense feelings for?" Teddy cut in.

"Jimmy is harmless he always has been. At least where Maddie's concerned anyway. And I believe that she was only fifteen at the time." Rayna said before Deacon could open his mouth.

"Nothin' we did or said was gonna keep those two away from each other. That was one battle we knew better than to fight. We'd both been there and we knew how creative it made us. We didn't wanna risk another one like us. We didn't have the technology that they had to go sneakin' 'round." Deacon put his arm around Rayna's shoulders.

"My daddy is standing right there. You don't want to confess to anything where he can hear it. It's been almost forty years, but that man knows how to hold a grudge." Rayna laughed softly. She put on her WASP act and dropped her natural persona whenever she had to come to the country club.

"On that note, Jimmy and I are gonna excuse ourselves and go find out what's taking Daphne so long." Maddie didn't want to take the chance of seeing things go sideways between her three parents.

"I just talked to her she was on her way from the stadium with Joel. They should be here any minute. You're gonna need a better excuse to get away from us." Deacon teased her.

"I'm willing to make an SOS call to get you out of this thing early if you play ball with me. You play nice with Teddy, his mom, and his sister for two hours I will fake a Jack meltdown. It'll give you time to go for an after-dinner date with mom and you two can spend some time together without her acting like stepford Rayna." Maddie whispered to him.

"Dream on, pal. You know that we have an early flight tomorrow. You're payin' us back by watchin' the kids tomorrow night while we go on a date." Deacon shot her down.

"It was worth a try. Jimmy wants to be here even less than you do if it's possible. This was my idea and I don't even wanna be here. The only reason I'm doing this is for Daph." Maddie grumbled.

"It was a good try, but I'll pass. The only thing I wanna do after this is go home and put my boots up on the coffee table." Deacon replied.

"She lets you do that?" Maddie looked confused.

"In the den, it's encouraged. It's where we escape at the end of the day after we get the kids down and we just wanna unwind like we used to." Deacon answered her.

"I better make my rounds." Maddie made a face.

"I still say it's not too late to elope." JC groaned.

"You have at least three women who would kill you if you thought 'bout it." Deacon laughed.

"Deacon, you remember my mother, Evelyn, don't you?" Teddy tried to make nice.

"Of course, I do." Deacon smiled, "It's good to see you again, Mrs. Conrad." He ran his hand over his beard.

"It's nice to see you again too, Deacon." Evelyn smiled back at him. "I still say it's uncanny how much Maddie looks and acts like you."

"Maddie doesn't seem to appreciate that the way I do." Deacon laughed to hide his discomfort.

"What do you think of this young man she's marrying?" Evelyn asked.

"He's my godson. I was at the hospital the day he was born. His father was my best friend. He's 'bout the only man I trust with my Maddie. He's good for her and good to her." Deacon smiled.

"Have you met Daphne's boyfriend?" Teddy arched his eyebrow.

"I have and I like him so far. Ray and I both do. He seems to be a good boy. He's an improvement over all her other boyfriends." Deacon retorted.

"Teddy, I'm begging you not to get him started. When Daphne's first date came to the house to pick her up he was sitting on the front porch shooting bottles off the fence with a bb gun." Rayna cautioned him.

"It was effective." Deacon shrugged his shoulders. "I need to go rescue Big Jack from Lamar if ya'll will excuse me."

"Pa, why don't you come say hi to everyone? Mawmaw always navigates her way around just fine. You have a tendency to stand off by yourself." Maddie waved Paul over.

"Hi, sweetheart, I feel like I don't see you as often as I should." Paul hugged her.

"I've been super busy, old man. I'm in the studio and some days I'm lucky if I see Jimmy for more than five minutes." Maddie kissed his cheek.

"She ain't kiddin' either. I either roll over in bed in the mornin' and she's sayin' bye or I wake up to her gettin' in bed and sayin' goodnight." JC added.

"That's a showman's life for ya. I can't remember how many bars I rolled out of at three or four in the mornin' after playin' all night. I'd have to sleep for a couple hours in the truck bed just to get sober enough to drive. Then I'd go home and crash out all day. I'd wake up with this little face a couple inches away from mine with this big ol' grin. 'we go fix truck, daddy'. I'd groan and lift him up on my chest. That always bought me a couple more hours of sleep." Paul remembered fondly.

"A couple drops of bourbon in a bottle does the same thing." Evelyn volunteered.

"A couple shots of bourbon before I went to bed and I didn't have to worry 'bout the kids botherin' me." Paul replied.

Evelyn laughed politely. "Maddie, do you realize how much you look like Deacon and Paul?"

"I've heard that more than a time or two." Maddie smiled.

"So far things seem to be goin' well." JC observed.

"Big Jack hasn't gotten drunk yet and no one has said anything to offend my dad. The type of country club my dad belongs in has red solo cups, pool tables, and dart boards." Maddie said out of the side of her mouth.

"That sounds like my kind of club." JC retorted.

Rayna walked up next to JC. "You can tell your bride to be that she owes me big for this one."

"She owes me big too. I had other plans tonight." JC crossed his arms. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a can of chewing tobacco.

"James, don't you dare do that here." Rayna stopped him.

"Thank you, mom, I'm trying to get him to stop doing it at all. I won't let him kiss me with that in his mouth." Maddie grumbled.

"Sweet girl, you have power that you can't even imagine over him. Use it to your advantage." Rayna advised her. She gave her a knowing look.

"Mom, you are so gross." Maddie groaned.

* * *

"Deacon Claybourne," Fred greeted Deacon out in the parking lot of Maggie's.

"Fred Belmont," Deacon returned the greeting in kind.

"I don't know two shits 'bout holdin' an album launch, but I'm damn glad that you wanted to have it here." Fred pumped his hand enthusiastically.

"Don't worry, brother, that's why we came down a day early to get ya all set up. I brought a good team with me. They know what they are doin'." Deacon replied.

"Is this your team?" Fred pointed behind him.

Deacon turned around and smiled at his kids. "They wish. If I'd let 'em they would be. They are a little young for that yet. Though they might work harder than the older two."

"Those are some mini Deacons. Oh, my goodness, look at ya'll." Fred beamed.

"Let me run down the line for ya. That's Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Jack Henry. The oldest two are back at the hotel sleepin' with their momma. You'll get to meet 'em though." Deacon pointed at each child as he spoke.

"It's real nice to meet ya'll. I've known your daddy a long time." Fred stooped down to their level. "Little Deacon, I don't know if anyone's ever told you this or not, but these two oldest boys look a lot alike. That little girl is gonna be a heartbreaker you need a shotgun for that one. And the little one is obviously his momma's son."

"We're twins," Deac and Jayme answered in unison. They got comments like that all the time.

"Daddy, he called you Little Deacon, no one calls you that." Charlie looked shocked.

"That's 'cause when Fred knew me I was Little Deacon. My pawpaw was Big Deacon." The smile lines around Deacon's eyes crinkled up.

"Daddy, you Big Deacon." Jack corrected him.

"Well, I am now. I used to be your size." Deacon ruffled his hair.

"I ain't open yet, what do you say you bring 'em inside for a soda pop? I can show 'em some old pictures of their daddy back when he was a young buck and your crew can take a look around." Fred suggested.

"That sounds perfect to me. I wish that my wife was here to hear you call it a soda pop. If I call it that she looks at me like I'm from Mars." Deacon herded the kids into the bar.

"I still have the original machine let me grab ya'll some quarters and you can feed it yourselves." Fred cracked open a roll of quarters and handed one to each child.

"What do ya'll say to Mr. Fred?" Deacon asked them.

"Thank you," All four children answered in unison.

"You have very polite children. How in the hell are they related to you?" Fred cracked.

"I've had just 'bout enough outta you for one mornin'. Give me a damn quarter I need some caffeine." Deacon held his hand out.

Fred slapped his hand. "You don't need a quarter. I have coffee in the pot."

* * *

"You sure you wanna do this, babe? You don't have to if you don't want to. They are really little and they ask a lot of question that you might not be ready to answer for them." Rayna asked Deacon.

"I'm not takin' 'em out to the house today I was just gonna show 'em 'round town a little bit. I think they will enjoy that. I know that they will enjoy goin' down to the riverfront and watchin' the boats. Henry loves watchin' tugboats." Deacon replied. He took a baseball cap out of his bag and put it on.

"Whatever you want, babe, this is your town." Rayna smiled.

Deacon handed her a hat. "We're gonna be in the sun you're gonna need that. You don't appreciate those cute little freckles across the bridge of your nose the way I do." He kissed the tip of her nose.

"Don't you make fun of my freckles. The same thing happens to Jack when he's out in the sun for too long." Rayna put the hat on.

"They are even more adorable on him than they are on you." Deacon kissed her cheek repeatedly.

"That one actually looks like I helped make him." Rayna smiled even though she was trying to be mad at him.

"I'm glad it's Jack that looks like you. I'm gonna have to sit out on the front porch with a shotgun over Charlie as it is. I could only imagine how much worse it would be if she looked like you. She's got your long ass legs that's bad enough. Those legs, well I won't go there 'cause I'm talkin' 'bout my daughter right now." Deacon cringed at the thought of his baby girl dating.

"You know one day some man is gonna say about her legs the things you say about mine, right?" Rayna had to rub that in a little bit.

Deacon frowned. "That's not funny, damn it."

"Babe, I know that your daughters are the great loves of your life, but they are meant to grow up and leave you for other men. They will always love and need their daddy, though." Rayna put her hands on his cheeks and laughed while she kissed him.

"Whatever you say, darlin'. Let's get these kids out of this hotel before they go stir crazy." Deacon pulled her to him and kissed her neck.

"Later, baby, I promise." Rayna swatted him away playfully.

"Do I need to tell ya how long it's been?" Deacon grinned at her.

"I don't need any reminders of how long it's been. I know damn well how long it's been." Rayna put her arms around his waist.

"I'm sure I could remind ya of what you're missin'." Deacon pressed his hips against hers.

"You think I need a reminder of that?" Rayna hooked her fingers through his belt loops.

"It's be a long while I think you might." Deacon flirted with her.

"Ok, creepy old people, this is the common area of the suite please don't do what you do best right here." Maddie broke them up.

"I hope you have a child just like you one day. You and Jimmy are mighty touchy feely too." Rayna pointed out to her.

"I don't know why you would wish that on me. You're gonna be stuck with this kid too." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"The difference is we can send this kid home when we're done. You're ours we can't get rid of ya." Deacon teased her.

"I don't know why you two act like you're upset I'm getting married you're so mean to me." Maddie pouted.

"You know that we love you." Rayna kissed her forehead.

JC came out of one of the rooms with Charlie wrapped up in his arms. "These monsters need to get outta this hotel now. They need to get rid of this energy. I gotta stop teachin' 'em moves to defend themselves. I'm gettin' my ass kicked by an eight-year-old." He was out of breath.

"Are you getting your ass kicked by my baby sister?" Maddie laughed at him.

"The sad part is I stopped lettin' her win three years ago. She can bring me to my knees without breakin' a sweat now. This child had me in a damn choke hold. I had to hog tie her to get her off me." JC had the little girl immobilized in his arms. "Go to your daddy you're still his problem. I took your sister off his hands she's all I can handle."

"Come here, Pistol, I've told you 'bout beatin' up on your brothers. You gotta get 'em when you least expect it." Deacon took her into his arms and kissed her all over her face.

"Daddy, stop!" Charlie giggled.

"Maddie, go find your sister and tell her it's time to go." Rayna just laughed at Deacon and Charlie. "Boys! Come on or I'm gonna come get you like your big brother was supposed to, to begin with." She called out to her sons. They'd much rather deal with Deacon than her. She was the parent who would bring the thunder when she had to.

The three boys ran into the room like they were on fire.

Daphne brought up the rear behind them. "I'm up. Next time don't send my sister to wake me up."

"It's not my fault that you and Joel were still up on the couch talking when we had to leave to be at the airport." Maddie teased her.

"We were just talking. We aren't you and Jimmy." Daphne elbowed her in the side.

"Let's get out of here before this conversation takes a turn that we don't want it to take." Deacon put Charlie down and picked Jack up to put him on his shoulders.

* * *

"That one right there is a tug boat, that's a shrimp boat, and there is a riverboat." Deacon pointed out the different boats to them that were on the riverfront.

"You can run a shrimp boat in Mississippi?" Maddie asked.

"Yes, you can. The way we do it from here we follow the river down through Louisiana then we cut over to the gulf. It all depends on what area we want to trawl. We like to do it without pullin' the boat outta the water if we can, but if we have to we will put it on the trailer and make the three and a half hour drive down to Gulfport to put it in there." A stocky man with deeply tanned skin answered.

"At least we don't let you pull the boat outta the water if we can help it. You have tendency to dinge up the boats gettin' 'em on the trailer." Deacon laughed.

"Little Deac Claybourne, look at you, man." The man offered him his hand.

"Chet Davis, it's damn good to see ya." Deacon shook his hand.

"I woulda thought for sure the last time I saw you that you would have ended up behind bars." Chet laughed.

"I could say the same for you." Deacon retorted.

"I just can't believe that I'm seein' Little Deac Claybourne in the flesh." Chet shook his head.

"I ain't Little Deac anymore. Hell, I ain't even been Deac in a long time. He's Deac now." Deacon pointed at his oldest son.

Rayna cleared her throat and arched her eyebrow.

"Look at me forgettin' my manners my momma would kill me. This is my wife, Rayna, our son in law, Jimmy, our daughters, Maddie, Daphne, and Charlie, and our sons, Deac, Jayme, and Jack Henry." Deacon pointed at each person as he spoke. "Ya'll this is Chet. He's an old friend of mine."

"It's nice to meet ya'll." Chet smiled at them.

Rayna shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Do the four little ones sung as well as their big sisters and their momma and daddy?" Chet asked.

"The four little ones have been to the best recordin' studios in Nashville. They are every bit as talented they just need a few more years on 'em." Deacon replied.

"Dude, I never saw you with a family. Drunk at two in the afternoon plenty of times, but never as a family man." Chet ribbed him a little bit.

"The thing 'bout bein' a recoverin' alcoholic is I don't do those things anymore. What have you done with yourself aside from drinkin' Maggie's dry every Friday night?" Deacon pursed his lips.

Chet pointed to a shrimp boat. "I captain that rig durin' the season, the Summer Rose is her name. Off season I get to use it to make money any way that I can. I don't own it, but I might as well. The owner asked for me special request 'bout six or seven years ago. I thought you knew that."

"Why would he know that? I normally have to pull teeth to get that man into this town." Rayna looked confused.

"Cause the name of the damn boat is the Summer Rose. I'm willin' to bet that the name on the title is Deacon Claybourne." Deacon replied.

"Right, I always kinda assumed that it was you." Chet answered.

"That's where that old man gets all his damn money. It should tell ya somethin' that I don't even question it when he asks me for money. I don't even wanna know 'bout this." Deacon shook his head.

"What surprises me is you givin' him money." Chet left it at that when Deacon gave him a look.

"It's a long story, but Paul ain't quite the way that anyone 'round here remembers him anymore." Deacon cleared his throat. "Chet, do you wanna make a little boy very happy?" He changed the subject.

"I can help with that." Chet agreed.

"Henry, you wanna go get on Pa's boat?" Deacon asked.

"Really!" Jack's eyes got big.

"Yeah, really, I wouldn't have asked ya if I wasn't serious. Go on, have your brothers and sisters take ya. I'll be right down." Deacon encouraged him.

"I'll take ya." JC lifted Jack up on his shoulders and carried him down to the boat. The others followed after them.

"Chet, do I owe you anythin' for upkeep or repairs?" Deacon asked.

"Paul pays all his bills on time. I get good pay and the freedom to do what I can't afford to do on my own. I don't even ever talk to him. I deal with a lawyer. This isn't the only boat that he has. You remember Jesse Spencer and Greg Madden?" Chet took his hat off and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Of course, I remember 'em. What 'bout 'em?" Deacon ran his hand over his beard.

"They both captain boats that Paul owns too." Chet answered him.

"I ain't even gonna try to figure this out. The less I know 'bout what that man does the better. If you wanna know anythin' 'bout that you ask him." Deacon sighed.

"It really ain't that hard to figure out now that I have all the pieces of the puzzle." Chet gave him a look.

"It's Paul's way of makin' amends. He's workin' his steps in a typical Paul fashion." Deacon rubbed his eyebrows.

"Babe, what are you two talkin' about?" Rayna looked between them.

"You think I had a thing for gettin' fired for my temper you didn't live with drunk Paul. He put Chet's daddy through a plate glass window. They got into a bar fight one night and Paul hit him just right. Chet's daddy was his boss. The same thing happened with Jesse and Greg's daddies. He could brawl. He probably still can. My father is an extreme person, Rayna. This is his way of makin' things right. The old codger is in his seventies and he just tore apart a motorcycle for my brother 'cause he thought it was a way to start makin' things right." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"So, that kid that could play baseball like he was born with it in his blood is your baby brother?" Chet asked him.

"He's young enough to be my son, but yeah, he's my baby brother." Deacon chuckled.

"For Paul Claybourne to be such a notorious son of a bitch he sure did produce this city's two most notable citizens." Chet observed.

The horn on the boat sounded.

"Babe," Rayna got Deacon's attention.

"Chet, I better get down there 'fore you don't have a boat left. That little one could easily talk those other ones into lettin' him drive off with it." Deacon looked concerned.

"He ain't lyin' 'bout that either. That little boy is a charmer. He gets it from his daddy." Rayna wrapped her arms around one of Deacon's.

Chet took a set of keys out of his pocket. "The damn thing may as well be yours and I know you know your way 'round it. Show your kids a good time. I ain't usin' the boat today keep it for as long as you want."

"Don't say that. If Jack had his way we'd take the damn thing back to Nashville." Rayna cautioned him.

"Don't say that too loudly. I will have to buy him a damn boat when we get home." Deacon warned her.

"That's not happenin'. Come on, I wanna see you show me your stuff on drivin' a boat this big." Rayna pulled him towards the docks.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'." Deacon laughed at her enthusiasm.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	59. Chapter 59

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The song used in this chapter is Sober Saturday Night by Chris Young.

* * *

Chapter 59

"Babe, why do I let it surprise me that you actually know someone who owns a riverboat?" Rayna smiled at Deacon over the top of her menu.

"I don't know, you're the one who likes to say that I know a guy for everythin'. We needed a date night and I thought that this was somethin' that you should experience." Deacon reached across the table and took her hand. They were on a sunset riverboat dinner cruise.

"I agree on both counts." Rayna laced their fingers together.

Deacon pulled at the collar of his shirt. "I love all those kids dearly and I love family time, but I miss us time too."

"As much as I love them and wouldn't trade them for anythin' in the world they can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Especially that oldest one." Rayna made a joke of it.

"That not so baby girl of ours requires a lot of care." Deacon chuckled.

Rayna ran her free hand over the bridge of his nose. "Damn, babe, you got some sun today."

"I ain't the only one. Those little midgets look they got a little burnt. And I can tell you did your hair gets lighter when you're exposed to the sun." Deacon replied.

"You can't help yourself can you? I tried to steer the subject away from the kids." Rayna teased him.

Deacon waited to answer her until after the waiter had taken their orders. "I know, I know. Adult dinner no kid talk."

"That rule never works for us. I don't know why I bother to try. Let me just say one thing and then we will go back to trying to focus on big people talk." Rayna replied.

"Say whatever it is you wanna say, baby." Deacon stared into her eyes.

"You know that I love watchin' how tender you are with our baby girls, but seein' you with those boys on that boat today teachin' 'em what to do was so sweet." Rayna gazed at him lovingly.

"Deac and Jack are naturals. I could see 'em bein' two simple little country boys. Jayme on the other hand takes after his momma. We call you the princess that boy is your prince when it comes to some things." Deacon played footsies with her under the table.

"From where I sit that's a fair trade. One of your boys for my frilly little girl you took and turned into a tomboy. The girls and I used to dress her so adorably or at least we would try to. She's always been a little more Claybourne and a little less Jaymes. She's more at home gettin' her hands dirty than gettin' her nails done." Rayna ran her foot up his calf.

"Maddie coulda been a little more like that a little less diva if I'd been 'round." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"I think we can both agree that Maddie was pretty much a lost cause from birth. That girl was born a princess." Rayna countered.

"I'll give you that one. I'll tell you what Jimmy fits in seamlessly. He's just one more of the rowdy bunch." Deacon replied.

"She did good with that one. When I'm plannin' family trips I automatically factor him in without thinkin' about it. I think Joel is gonna be able to hang with the big dogs too. I think Daph is playin' it cool so she doesn't scare him off. She really likes him, babe, I think we're talkin' the other L word here. If that's the case then he's her first real love and that's the one that hurts the most." Rayna said thoughtfully.

"The first one always hurts the most and is the hardest. The first one is the one you spend the rest of your life tryin' to get over." Deacon retorted.

"Anyway, Chet is an interestin' guy." Rayna changed the subject again.

"I was honestly surprised that Chet was so friendly with me. I imagine there are quite a few people in this town still pissed off with me 'cause I up and took off with the sun four decades ago. It may not have been much of a life, but I did have one here." Deacon replied.

"Exactly how many hearts did I ensure stayed broken when I met you in the Bluebird that night?" Rayna asked.

"One way or another I believe that you and I woulda met. Let me put it this way. I was seriously thinkin' 'bout just givin' it up and comin' back here when I met you. You gave me one more reason not to and I wasn't gonna put up a fight. Especially not when my captor was so damn pretty." Deacon kissed her hand.

"You are so damn charmin'. I don't know how I am able to keep my hands off you." Rayna flirted with him.

"You don't keep your hands off me. Have you seen how many kids we have?" Deacon winked at her.

"Come here, I need a real kiss." Rayna leaned in.

Deacon leaned over and pecked her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." Rayna smiled against his lips.

"You better love me. You ordered the steak and lobster and the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu. I better be reapin' some benefits later." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"You ordered the same thing, buddy. Maybe you'll owe me later. We will have to see who can get to their credit card first." Rayna smirked.

"You ain't payin' for this darlin'. I asked you out to a nice dinner. Where I come from a gentleman pays when he asks a lady out on a date. Even if that lady is his wife. Even when that lady is the undisputed queen of country." Deacon brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I think I can live with owing you later. Hopefully by the time we get back to the hotel the four-year-old will be sleepin' and we will have the bed to ourselves." Rayna laughed in the back of her throat.

"I think that you mentioned somethin' 'bout us gettin' creative the other day. I'm down for that." Deacon grinned sexily.

"I did and I got somethin' special for us." Rayna licked her lips seductively.

* * *

"Jimmy, what the hell are you doing, babe? You were supposed to be watching the little one while I took a shower." Maddie walked into the living room area of the suite. Her baby brother was fussing while JC slept.

"Huh, what?" JC jerked awake his foot hitting the coffee table knocking over his empty beer bottles. "I nodded off for a minute little buddy was sleepin' too."

"Jackie Bear, why don't you get back up on the couch with Jimmy and sleep?" Maddie spoke to him gently. She gave JC a harsh look. This wasn't the first time she'd caught him dozing because he'd drank himself into a nap.

"No sleep! I wait for momma." Jack stamped his little foot and crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. His bottom lip stuck out in a pout and quivered.

"Henry, come on, buddy. It'll be really late by the time they get back." JC tried to placate the little boy.

"You don't call me Henry. Only daddy calls me Henry." Jack protested. He was on the verge of a full-on meltdown.

"Sorry, I thought we were buddies." JC apologized.

"Ok, that's it. We tried and we failed. I'm pulling out the big guns. Mom keeps an emergency supply of the thing he's not supposed to have anymore. I just have to find it." Maddie stood up. "Keep him occupied I will be right back."

"I got him." JC replied. "Jack Henry, calm down, pal. You love stayin' with me and Maddie. We always have fun together. You can get in the bed in between me and Maddie and watch somethin' on the iPad."

"No! I want momma." Jack stamped his foot again.

"Found it," Maddie announced. She came back in the room with a weirded out look on her face.

"What's up?" JC picked up on her uneasiness right away.

"I'll tell you in a minute." Maddie frowned. "Jackson Henry, here is the deal. I have something here you're not supposed to have if I give it to you have to settle down and at least lay down. What do you say?"

"What is it?" Jack glared at her.

Maddie took a pacifier from behind her back. "I have your binky. You gonna take my deal?"

Jack held out his hand. "Deal, give me my binky."

"Here's your binky." Maddie handed it to him.

"Thank you," Jack put it in his mouth.

"Now, you go potty, so you don't have an accident." Maddie pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

Jack scampered off to the bathroom.

"What are you so weirded out 'bout?" JC asked.

"My mom has some serious explaining to do." Maddie rolled out a strip of condoms.

"Where did you find those? Why does my mother-in-law have condoms? That's fuckin' gross." JC made a face.

"You two have no shame. There are little kids around here and this is a communal area." Daphne walked in.

"These aren't ours. I got Jack's emergency binky out of her purse and I found these." Maddie corrected her.

"Why would she have those? Does she even need them?" Daphne crinkled up her nose.

"Do we tell dad or do we confront mom about it? I think we all know that those two don't use protection." Maddie started to get worked up.

"Both ya'll wait a minute. You're goin' off damn the rails. We all know that she would never cheat on him. Let's say I know a thing or two 'bout things that I don't really wanna know 'bout. Your mom just did the thing with the stuff with the thing. The stuff that you have to take to do that thing heightens certain other things and that's why she would need those." JC explained in a rambling way.

"Oh, that's right." Maddie breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you two talking about?" Daphne looked between them.

"Don't tell anyone else this. Mom donated her eggs to Aunt Tandy. That's the reason for the condoms." Maddie clarified. "Do I want to know how you know 'bout these things?" She directed that comment towards her fiancé.

"I know better than to ask. It's mom and Aunt Tandy." Daphne just shook her head.

"One of Bobby's wives had trouble gettin' pregnant and she had to do fertility treatments. Bobby has a big mouth and he overshares. I don't know why you're really surprised 'bout anythin' that I know. I have useless information in my head." JC shrugged his shoulders.

Jack came back from the bathroom and crawled up into JC's lap. His earlier snit forgotten about. He took his binky out of his mouth. "I sorry, we buddies, you call me Henry if you wanna. I love you, Jimmy."

"I love you too." JC rubbed his back.

"Maddie, put those things back where you found them. You know how anal retentive our mother is about her purse." Daphne told her sister.

"I wanna forget that I ever saw those." Maddie made a face.

"All of us do." JC shook his head.

* * *

" _I feel terrible, sunlight's hurtin' my eyes. So, I pull the shades and I make my place as black as night. I feel miserable and I'm missin' you and me. Another Sunday mornin' all alone underneath these sheets."_ Deacon was up on stage at Maggie's he was playing a select few songs off his album live.

" _No, I'm not hungover it's true, but I'm still not over you. All messed up, all strung out, I was sittin' at home breakin' down. I'm not out there gettin' high underneath some neon lights. Ain't no whiskey strong enough to make things right. I'm just gettin' over another sober Saturday night."_ It was obvious that this song was about the years he'd spent without Rayna while she was married to Teddy.

" _Besides the pain I don't feel a thing, so when my buddies call me up I just let it ring. No, I'm not hungover it's true, but I'm still not over you. All messed up, all strung out, I was sittin' at home breakin' down. I'm not out there gettin' high underneath some neon lights. Ain't no whiskey strong enough to make things right. I'm just gettin' over another sober Saturday night."_

" _No, I'm not out there gettin' high underneath some neon lights. Ain't no whiskey strong enough to make things right. I'm just gettin' over another sober Saturday night."_ Deacon finished the song softly.

The crowd applauded enthusiastically.

"Thank ya'll," Deacon got off the stage.

"Very well done, babe. I think that song is even more powerful live than it is recorded." Rayna hugged him.

"Thanks, baby, your opinion means the most to me." Deacon kissed her forehead.

"Go make your rounds. You get to talk to me all the time. You need to interact with your fans." Rayna kissed him and sent him on his way.

"I'm goin' I will see you in a little while." Deacon went to go walk around.

"Imagine seein' you in here after all this time, stranger." A blonde woman who looked around Deacon's age came up to him.

Deacon looked at her and his words got stuck in his throat for a moment. "Emily, hi,"

"Deacon, time has been good to you. I never doubted that it would though. I just always thought that I'd be there to see it. Instead I woke up the mornin' after graduation and you were gone. No phone call just a note sayin' that you were sorry, but you had to go. I meant so much to you that you didn't bother to say goodbye in person or call ever again. Do you know what that does to seventeen-year-old girl?" Emily replied.

"I owe you an apology for that. I've done a lot of rotten things in my life and that one I think makes the top fifty. I have three daughters and I know I'd be out for blood if some punk did that to them. I'm sorry, I didn't leave just 'cause I wanted to. I left 'cause I had to. I shoulda been man enough to stay and explain, but I wasn't. I promise you it was life or death though." Deacon apologized.

"I know. When I finally worked up the courage to go down to the diner your momma told me why you had to leave. Then when you got big I was happy for ya. As much as I woulda liked for you to stay and been with me I know that you probably wouldn't have survived it. Just answer me this. Are you happy?" Emily asked him.

Deacon caught Rayna's eye from across the bar and smiled. "I'm happier than I ever thought that I could be. I didn't know true happiness 'til I met her. One look at her and I was done. I knew that I would never love another woman the way that I love her."

"Anyone who has ever seen you two look at each other doesn't need any explanation. They can see it. I don't think most people feel love the way you two do." Emily replied.

"I can't even describe what it feels like to love someone as much as I love her." Deacon smiled like he always did when he was talking about his wife.

"You over here talkin' about me?" Rayna walked over and put her arm around Deacon's waist.

"Always," Deacon smiled.

"You gonna introduce me?" Rayna asked.

"Emily, this is my wife, Rayna. Rayna, this is Emily." Deacon introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you." Rayna smiled politely and offered the other woman her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too. Deac certainly smiles a lot more than I ever thought I'd see with you. He used to have this whole broodin' bad boy thing he did." Emily shook her hand.

"I wake up to that broody stubbled face every mornin'. He smiles a whole lot, but he's still a brooder." Rayna put her hand on his face.

"Alright, that's enough outta you." Deacon laughed.

"He didn't smile so much back when we were together. He just brooded a lot." Emily retorted.

"It took a while for me to get him to this point, but he was worth the work." Rayna smiled brightly.

"I guess I better let you get back to bein' a big star. I don't wanna keep ya." Emily cleared her throat.

"It was really good talkin' to you." Deacon offered her a smile.

"You too. Your daughter is gorgeous and looks just like you by the way." Emily inclined her head in Maddie's direction.

"Thank you, she's one of the things that I'm proudest of in this world." Deacon beamed proudly.

"She acts like him too." Rayna added.

"Hey, Emily, are you happy? You asked me, but I didn't ask you." Deacon called out before she could walk away.

"I'm happy, Deacon. A girl can't pine away for you forever." Emily waved at him before she walked away.

"That was Emily?" Rayna gave him a sharp look.

"That was Emily." Deacon looked everywhere, but at her.

"You told me that she couldn't hold a candle in the wind to me. She's beautiful, Deacon." Rayna elbowed him in the side discreetly.

"I hadn't noticed. You are and always will be the most beautiful woman in the world to me. I was a kid and so was she. I left her in the middle of the night and never came back. I met you one night and I never left your side." Deacon stole a quick kiss from her.

"Oh my lord, I can't take you. You're too damn sweet for your own good. I love you so much." Rayna smirked at him.

"You can't take me, but you damn sure can't leave me either." Deacon teased.

"I could leave you at a tour stop, but I'd have someone go back for ya." Rayna kissed him again.

"Harley, that right there is one of the shots that we love to grab for our social media accounts. With those two you get plenty of opportunities." MJ snapped a picture of them. He had Harley interning for him.

"Who gave you an intern?" Deacon asked him.

"Nick gave me an intern. He told me to keep him out of trouble and see if I couldn't show him a thing or two. He's mostly here just to carry my gear and send out tweets if I get too drunk. I want a family photo of ya'll too. That's always good for business." MJ replied.

"Nick gave you a babysitting job." Rayna corrected him.

"Aunt Ray, I don't need to be babysat." Harley protested.

"You are your grandmother's grandson. You could get into trouble without tryin'." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Now that you mention it. He probably didn't wanna leave me alone for any amount of time because the last time he did I had a huge party and mawmaw kinda waved her magic wand and made it go away when the cops got called." Harley admitted.

"Not the first time somethin' like that has happened in Belle Meade. Maddie was twenty and Daphne was sixteen they went over to the old house and had one hell of a blowout. I thought Ray was gonna kill them girls that night." Deacon let out a low whistle.

"I wanted to kill them that night. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as drunk as those two were and I've seen quite a few drunk people in my day." Rayna shook her head.

"Harley, these two can be distractin' as hell when they wanna be not only to each other. You and I need to go. We have to take pictures to upload on the Facebook page. Uncle Deacon needs pictures for his personal accounts. We have a lotta shit to do. If you're lucky I'll let you video some of this." MJ pulled the younger man along by his arm.

"Are we a business or a college internship?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"Sometimes I truthfully don't know." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"We have fun and we make money those are the only two important things." Deacon laughed.

"Exactly, we keep all the trains running and that's all that matters." Rayna leaned against him.

"You keep the trains runnin' I just sit back in my office and do as little as possible." Deacon retorted.

"You deal with my barging into your office without any warning and you can handle my crazy. You are a damn good partner." Rayna kissed along his jawline.

"You better stop that. You act like you didn't get enough of me last night." Deacon reached down and put his hand on her ass.

"I can never get enough of you. You should know that by now." Rayna pointed out to him.

"I can't get enough of you either. I'm supposed to be workin' right now." The laugh lines around his eyes crinkled up.

"Then take your hand off my ass, babe. You're not gonna be able to get anythin' done if you're messin' with me." Rayna put her hand in his back pocket and pinched his ass.

Deacon arched his eyebrow. "You distract the hell outta me. Hold that thought 'til later." He walked away before she had a chance to say anything else. They would never stop bantering with each other otherwise.

"I'm starting to see why dad had to get out of this place." Maddie walked up next to Rayna.

"It wasn't this place he was trying to get away from so much as your Pa. He wanted to do his album release here and I don't argue with him when it comes to this stuff." Rayna replied.

"Who was that woman he was talking to?" Maddie asked.

"That was his ex. Like I said with him I don't ask questions." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just surprised that she had all of her teeth." Maddie quipped.

"Maddie, be nice. This is part of where you come from. If you ask your dad I'm sure that you can learn a lot." Rayna chastised her.

"I know that. And I really do wanna know where I come from. This is just a hard story to get out of him sometimes." Maddie replied.

"I know that. I know that better than anyone does. I bared my soul to that man and it took me years to get his story out of him. It came out bits and pieces at a time. The minute he told me that he started drinking in the fourth grade was the minute I knew he was an alcoholic. I guess I had known that for a while, but I couldn't deny it anymore. That was the same night he told me that he was so ashamed of his father and the things he'd done that he seriously considered going by his middle name." Rayna informed her.

"Wow, that's some heavy stuff. I can't imagine him as a John. Deacon just suits him for some reason." Maddie sipped her drink.

"Like he's some kinda Post Civil War western movie hero. He had this haunted look about him like he'd whipped all the Yankees he could, but he had seen things that he couldn't talk about." Rayna had this romanticized version of her husband in her head.

"Mom, I am gonna beg you to never say that to anyone else ever again. You two are so goofy about each other. It's sweet, but it's gross." Maddie groaned.

"Princess, if things with Jimmy go as well for you as I hope they do one day you and Jimmy are gonna embarrass your kids just as much as daddy and I embarrass you. To me he's John Wayne, James Dean, and Clark Gable rolled into one. He's the tough cowboy, the rebel without a cause, and the southern gentleman that only exists in movies. He'd fight for me, he'd take me down those roads I couldn't find the way down on my own, and he'd love me like it's his last day on earth." Rayna got deep on her.

"You keep talking like that and I'm gonna have you write my vows for me. I mean seriously I'm a song writer all I do is work with my feelings and I can't get my vows down the way I want them." Maddie sighed. The one thing in the world she didn't doubt was her parents' love for each other.

"You'll get it. When it's that important it's always harder to get down. You'd think it'd be harder to bare your soul for millions of strangers, but it's not. It's harder to put into words how you feel about the closest person to you in the world and tell them that." Rayna reassured her.

"So, was that a maybe?" Maddie grinned.

"That was a write your own damn vows, Madison." Rayna laughed at her.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We're a little more than halfway through this story and I'm thinking about the next installment already. I thought that I'd put it to a vote. Do we want the next one set five or ten years in the future? Until next time please review.


	60. Chapter 60

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 60

"Babe, I'm gettin' ready to open this door. You need to be quiet." Deacon held his finger up to his lips. He had the hotel keycard in his other hand.

"I am bein' quiet." Rayna giggled loudly. She was obviously drunk.

"You are so not bein' quiet. If you're loud you'll wake Jack Henry up and then we'll be screwed without doin' the screwin' part." Deacon retorted. They had been out all night exploring the bars in Natchez. It was supposed to be research for Rayna's new album, but it had somehow ended up with her being tipsy instead.

"Jack Henry is probably sound asleep. Don't worry about it. He loves Maddie and Jimmy. He always behaves with them." Rayna put her mouth against his ear and whispered loudly. She groped him clumsily.

Deacon smirked. "Oh, babe, you gotta wait just a minute. Henry has been with 'em for two nights in a row. He may have revolted a little."

"Don't act like you don't like me touchin' you." Rayna pressed against his back.

"I like you touchin' me way too much." Deacon put the keycard in the door and opened it.

"And what have you two been up to? You're getting in mighty late." Maddie looked at them over the back of the couch.

"How did your brothers and sister behave tonight?" Deacon asked.

"Daph and I came back from having a drink and Jimmy was pretty much being held hostage. He was restrained to a chair. We got the older three settled down, but the little one wasn't having it. He finally fell asleep on his Jimmy. And his Jimmy fell asleep too." Maddie pointed to the opposite end of the couch where JC and Jack were both sound asleep.

"You had to give him the emergency binky?" Rayna tried her best to sound sober.

"He has an emergency binky? I thought he was weaned off that thing. He's almost five." Deacon looked confused.

"He wasn't gonna go down without it. I plead the fifth. I just know where to find it if I need to bribe him with it." Maddie professed her innocence.

"Relax, babe, he is weaned off it for the most part. If he's not at home or not with us I like to send it with him just in case he gets really fussy. He's four it's a comfort thing for him." Rayna rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Says the woman who wouldn't let the twins or Charlie keep their binkies past the age of two." Deacon scoffed.

"He's my baby. Don't give me a hard time about it." Rayna took the binky out of Jack's mouth. "He doesn't even suck it anymore he just wants it, it's like a security blanket for him."

"He has a lot of security blankets. An actual blanket, his binky, and the bear he carries with him everywhere." Deacon listed off.

"Darlin', just carry him to bed and meet me in the bedroom." Rayna told him.

"I'm on it." Deacon carefully lifted Jack off JC and carried him to bed.

"Jimmy that worn out or did he drink himself that way?" Rayna pointed at the empty beer bottles on the table.

"Jimmy is getting old. He has a few beers and he passes out." Maddie made a joke of it.

Rayna leaned down and kissed her head. "Sleep well, I love you."

"I love you too, mom. Have a good night. Try not to be too loud." Maddie smirked.

"I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout." Rayna played dumb.

"I found the condoms in your purse last night when I was looking for his binky." Maddie called her out.

"At least you know that your sex life doesn't have to go to hell once you get married." Rayna teased her.

"Mom, you are gross. I need you to get away from me." Maddie laughed despite herself.

Rayna walked down the hall to her room laughing.

* * *

By the time, Deacon came into the room she was dressed only in a t-shirt and a pair of panties. He stepped up behind her and put his hands on her hips.

"Glow in the dark or flavored? We used all the Olympic medal condoms last night." Rayna held up two different condoms.

"Glow in the dark. We don't need a condom for you to suck me." Deacon rubbed his beard against her neck.

"Honey, I'm gonna go down on you tonight after what you did to me last night. Trust me I don't want a layer of latex between us when I do. I have flavored lube for that." Rayna handed him a condom and rubbed against his erection. She sat a bottle of lube on the nightstand.

"What are you givin' this to me for? We kinda established last night that you're better at puttin' them things on me than I am." Deacon looked at the condom confused.

"I told you if we can't have the skin on skin contact that we have to be creative. I'm gonna go wait for you in the bathroom. I'll know you're ready when you turn the lights off. Try to find a good hidin' spot." Rayna smirked. She kissed him and went into the bathroom.

Deacon stripped down and put the condom on. When he was ready for Rayna to join, him he turned the lights off.

Rayna turned the bathroom light off before she opened the door. "That thing is a hell of a lot brighter than I thought it would be." She spotted Deacon right away sitting up in a chair.

"It's like a damn beacon." Deacon laughed. He spread his legs and motioned her over with a hooked finger.

Rayna settled herself in between his legs and kissed him.

Deacon put his hands on his legs and slowly ran them up under her shirt. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and pulled them down. "Now, why don't you have a seat?" He rubbed the backs of her thighs with one hand and he used the other to stroke his erection.

"I don't know if I can handle that. I think it might be a little too big for me." Rayna bit her lip sexily.

Deacon moved his hand between her legs and cupped her bare mound. He slipped two fingers inside of her and found that she was already wet. "You sure 'bout that?" He started to pump his fingers slowly.

Rayna moaned in the back of her throat. She put her hand on top of his and pulled his fingers from her. She brought his fingers up to her mouth and sucked on them seductively. "I think I can handle it." She straddled him and took hold of his erection. She sank down on him slowly.

"Christ, baby, you're so fuckin' hot." Deacon groaned. He put his hands on her hips and started to buck up into her gently.

Rayna put her hands on his shoulders for balance. "Let me know when you're close, ok?" She panted.

"Whatever you want, babe." Deacon brought his hands up to cup her breasts. He tweaked her nipples with his thumbs when she began to bounce on his lap.

Rayna tossed her hair over her shoulder and threw her head back. Her mouth was open in a silent scream. She was mindful of the fact that they were sharing the suite with their children.

Deacon made sure to rub his pelvis against her clit on every down stroke. He knew from experience that it was easier for him to make her orgasm when she was drunk.

It didn't take long at all for Rayna to achieve that first orgasm. She bit down on the juncture of his neck and collarbone to keep herself quiet.

Deacon grunted as her walls clamped down around him like a velvet vice. It was almost enough to push him over the edge too. He knew that he wouldn't last too much longer inside her. "Babe, I'm close, I'm too close."

Rayna took a minute to catch her breath and she kissed on his neck. "Now, I get to have my fun." She pulled off him slowly.

"Mmm, damn babe, I ain't came yet, but I'm still sensitive." Deacon hissed through his teeth.

"Sorry, lover, I'll be right back." Rayna kissed him quickly and pulled the condom off his dick. She walked to the bedside table and retrieved the bottle of lube she'd sat there.

"What are you doin'?" Deacon put his hands behind his head and laced his fingers together.

Rayna dropped to her knees between his legs. "You'll see," She squirted the lube on his erection and used her hand to spread it around.

Deacon stifled his moan by biting his lip.

Rayna licked around the head of his dick like it was an ice cream cone a few times before taking him completely in her mouth.

Deacon took one of his hands from behind his head and tangled it up in her hair.

Rayna bobbed her head up and down on his cock. She alternated between sucking on the head, humming, dragging her teeth lightly along his shaft, and swirling her tongue around. She knew just what to do to get him to the finish line.

Deacon moaned and grunted his appreciation of the magic she was working on him. He hissed through his teeth when her tongue hit a particularly sensitive spot. He moaned even louder when he felt the vibrations from her moans against his shaft. He looked down to see that she had two fingers buried in herself pumping them in and out.

Rayna hadn't been lying when she said that they could get creative. Sex was one of the things that they did best together. If it was possible they were better at sex than they were making music.

"Babe, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come right now. If you don't wanna swallow you better pull away." Deacon's voice held a hint of urgency.

Rayna's only response was to suck harder. She stared at him a lusty look in her eyes as she swallowed his load. She came at the same time.

Deacon's chest heaved up and down like he'd just ran a marathon. It took him a minute to catch his breath. "Babe, that was wow."

"I'm amazed that we are still that into each other. Sex is not a chore with you at all. It's still like we are in our teens or twenties." Rayna sat on his lap and threw her legs over the arm of the chair.

"We just get better with age, baby. We don't ever have to worry 'bout not bein' attracted to each other." Deacon buried his face in the crook of her neck and left a trail of hot kisses there.

"Mmm, you weren't jokin' when you said that we can't get enough of each other." Rayna reached behind her head and threaded her fingers through his hair.

"I think you're tryin' to distract me from the fact that you are still lettin' Henry have his binky." Deacon yelped when she tugged on his hair.

"Do you really wanna pursue that line of questioning with me right now?" Rayna tilted her head back an impish smirk on her face.

"You are evil to me when you wanna be. The boy is our baby, but I would prefer that we not have to put braces on him 'cause you can't handle his tears." Deacon kissed her.

"You wanna risk it without a condom?" Rayna tried to change the subject by appealing to his sexual side.

"You're just tryin' to change the subject, but how do I turn that down? Maybe I do need to give you another baby. That way you may let go of Henry a little." Deacon teased her.

Rayna got up and went over to the bed. She took her shirt off and tossed it at him. "Why don't you come over here and try?" She spread her legs open in invitation.

"I've certainly proven I'm up to the task. I think I got one more in me." Deacon crawled into the bed and got on top of her.

* * *

"How'd we get lucky enough that it's just the three of us for breakfast this morning?" Daphne looked between her mother and sister.

"Your daddy said fishing and five hands shot up very quickly to volunteer to be his fishing buddy." Rayna answered her.

"Four because they love their daddy and wanna go everywhere with him and the fifth because he thinks he can avoid a talk with me." Maddie snorted.

"Trouble in paradise already, Maddie?" Daphne tried to bait her into an argument.

"No. As a couple we are fine. It's his personal mental health that I'm worried about. He can't sleep unless he drinks. I know what's wrong with him or at least I think I do. He won't listen to me, though." Maddie sipped her coffee.

"He's drinking heavily or he's drinking enough to put him to sleep?" Rayna looked very distressed at that news.

"He's drinking to avoid taking the anti-anxiety meds his doctor gave him. He can't admit that he has a problem and he refuses to use his pills to fix it." Maddie answered.

"What's wrong with him, Maddie?" Daphne questioned.

"Here's where we argue his doctor says he has a little anxiety, but I think he has PTSD. He refuses to talk to a shrink because he doesn't want that to go in his service jacket." Maddie sighed.

"Do you think he needs an intervention?" Rayna asked her.

"Mom, I think that would only make the situation worse. I can't accuse him of being an alcoholic. The only thing that will do is make him shut down and shut me out." Maddie put her hands over her face.

"Do you think he's an alcoholic?" Rayna wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on.

"God no, he's not an alcoholic. I think he has nightmares. He drinks to chase the nightmares away, so he won't have to take the pills. I feel bad for him, but at the same time he's making me crazy, because he won't go get the help he needs. He's afraid of how it will make him look." Maddie had been round and round with JC on this subject.

"He's had nightmares since he came back to Nashville. I remember he woke up on the couch once screaming. That was from that stuff with his sister's boyfriend. I can't imagine how much worse it is now that he has all those experiences he can't really talk about. You have a nuclear option with him and I'm telling you I wouldn't take it lightly if I were you. You tell him to get help or you won't marry him. Don't say it if you're not prepared to follow through with it. Maddie, as much as you're like your daddy you're a lot like me. We can come on strong and that makes us come across different than we intended. You need to speak to him from your heart and let him know that you're scared for him and that you'll be there for him no matter what. The other stuff is the nuclear option don't take it unless you have to." Rayna advised her.

"He worked through the stuff that happened with Allie's boyfriend. He just refuses to deal with whatever he's going through this time. I wish he would talk about it. Every time I try to get him to, he shuts down on me. I told him when we got back together that he didn't have to tell me anything until he was ready. In hindsight that may have been a mistake. Maybe he needs me to push him." Maddie played with her fingers.

"If it's a couple of beers to help him sleep every now and then I wouldn't push him too hard just yet. If he's drinkin' bourbon straight outta the bottle 'cause it's two in the afternoon and he has nothin' better to do then he needs an intervention." Rayna reached over and took her hand.

"I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing, but I worry about him." Maddie squeezed her mother's hand.

"You love him, of course, you're worried 'bout him." Rayna smiled at her sympathetically.

"This stuff right here is what makes me question the wisdom of getting into a long-term relationship. I don't know that I'll ever get married. I've seen you two go through your relationships and I'm cautious." Daphne snorted.

"Daph, he's just a stubborn prideful man. Those faults aside he's worth the trouble." Maddie told her.

"I know that your dad and I went through a lot to finally get together. I think the result was worth all the bullshit that we put each other through to get here. You can't give up on love just because it's been messy for me and your sister." Rayna reasoned with her.

"I thought things between you and Joel were starting to get pretty serious." Maddie looked confused.

"They are I guess. I don't know. He's a football player he has to be gone a lot and I don't know how I'll handle that. I have abandonment issues thanks to dad. He got out of prison and he just kinda forgot that I existed. I need a man that is gonna be steady." Daphne stressed.

"Teddy has his flaws, but he does love you. I know that it hurt you when he distanced himself from you. He did it for your own good. He thought that you would be better off without him so visibly in your life to stir up trouble for you. He did it to protect you. I told him when he came up with that stupid plan that it was a bad idea. No amount of beggin' and pleadin' from me was enough to change his mind. I was pregnant with Jack at the time and we all know how emotional I get when I'm pregnant." Rayna took her hand with her free hand.

"Mom, you have always been there for us even when you're out on the road. None of your bullshit has ever kept you from being a parent. I don't think you should work so hard to let him off the hook." Maddie grumbled.

"I'm not lettin' him off the hook. I'm tellin' you that he's flawed, but he does genuinely love both you." Rayna clarified.

"Maddie is a lot like dad she holds on to things. She doesn't forgive easily." Daphne pointed out.

"Hey, I'm not mad at him on my behalf. I'm mad at him because of the way he's treated you. And maybe there are a couple of other things that I'm pissed at him about, but those things don't involve you." Maddie admitted.

"Just like dad. He's still not over the fact that mom found his cookie stash my freshman year of high school." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Ok, that's enough outta both of you. Eat your breakfast." Rayna shook her head at them.

* * *

"Henry, come here and let me reapply your sunscreen. Your momma will have my ass if I let you get burnt." Deacon waved his youngest son over.

"Oh yeah, we don't cross Momma Ray when it comes to him." JC chuckled.

Jack walked over to his dad. "Put it on me." He sighed loudly.

Deacon squirted some sunscreen on his hand. "Don't get mad at me, Henry. It's not my fault that you burn easily. You can blame your fair skinned, freckled up, redheaded momma for that." He applied a coat of sunscreen to him. He paid special attention to his nose and the tips of his ears.

"You're gonna get in trouble when he tells momma you said that." Charlie pointed out to him.

"He's always in trouble." Jayme reminded her.

"He doesn't care." Deac chimed in.

"Deacon, I think they've got ya pegged." JC took a can of dip out of his pocket and packed his lip with a pinch. He spit a stream of tobacco. "Charlie, what you fightin' on that line? It looks like somethin' big. I'll get the net for ya."

"I don't know, Jimmy, it's fightin' like hell." Charlie retorted.

Deacon cleared his throat to cover up a laugh. "Charlie Ginia," He tried his best to sound stern. At least as stern as he could using his made up version of his daughter's given name.

"Well, it is fightin' like hell." Charlie's tongue poked out from between her teeth. She held the tip of her rod up and reeled furiously.

"She ain't a lady. I give up." Deacon shrugged his shoulders. She had only said hell. He wasn't going to make a huge deal out of that. He was as bad about Charlie as he accused Rayna of being with Jack.

"Step on back further on the bank, Chuck." JC got Charlie to take a step back. He leaned over and scooped the fish up in the net. "Holy hell, Deacon, look at this. This girl done put us all to shame as usual."

"I'll be damned. She sure did." Deacon beamed with pride.

Charlie reached into the net and put her thumb in the fish's mouth. The little girl was fearless. "Daddy, it's a striped bass."

"I see that. That is so awesome, Pistol. We have to take a picture of that." Deacon took a picture of her on the phone. He loved his beautifully adventurous, fearless little girl. She was always the first one to volunteer to be his partner in crime. He could get her to do things that he couldn't even get the boys to do with him. They shared a special bond that he couldn't put into words no matter how hard he tried.

"I can't wait for momma to see this." Charlie smiled widely.

"You know who is gonna be really excited to see that? Your pa. He thinks the sun rises and sets with you. Come here, my amazingly beautiful little mess." Deacon got up and put his arm around her.

"Ya'll smile," JC snapped a picture of them on his phone.

Deacon and Charlie both smiled big. They had identical smiles and their eyes lit up the same way. She was him in tiny female form and there was no denying that.

"That's a really cool fish, Charlie." Deac told his sister. Those two were pretty close.

"I know, Deac." Charlie replied excitedly.

"Good catch," Jayme congratulated her.

"Thanks, Jayme," Charlie took the fish off the hook herself.

"Deacon, I think we've raised that girl up right." JC commented.

"Yeah we have. We've turned her into quite the little outdoorsman." Deacon agreed.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	61. Chapter 61

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 61

"Mom, be still. I feel like I'm talking to Jack right now. The difference is he listens better than you do. I'm gonna mess up if you don't stop moving." Maddie sat on the floor painting Rayna's toes.

"I am bein' as still as I possibly can. I'm readin' my emails. You have to remember that I don't have you Aunt Tandy in the office to take care of things for me right now. I have to make sure that your Uncle Nicky is stayin' on top of things. So, far he seems to be doin' a good job." Rayna replied.

"Maddie, I can't believe that you're painting her nails that shade of red." Daphne looked at her sister like she'd lost her mind.

"I'm trying out different shades of red for my wedding. I only have so many fingers and toes. I need the right shade I'm wearing open toed shoes and so are you for that matter. I want the color to be right." Maddie stressed.

"Sweetheart, all this stressin' out you're doin' ain't gonna matter. I promise you that not everythin' will be perfect. I also promise you that when it's all said and done you won't care anyway. All those little details will fade to the background and the only thing you'll care 'bout is Jimmy. You'll be so lost in him that you won't notice anythin' else." Rayna advised her.

"Maddie, you're my sister and I love you, but I will be so glad for this damn wedding to be over with." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"I'll be glad for it to be over too. I can't wait to be married to him." Maddie's face lit up with a smile.

"Your daddy has about fifteen minutes to get my babies back here. He's had them out in the sun long enough for one day. He knows that Jack burns easily." Rayna checked the time on her phone.

"Mom, I think that he's capable of taking care of the boy just as well as you can." Daphne made a face.

"But, that's her precious little Jack. No one can take care of him as well as she can." Maddie teased.

"That's enough outta both of ya'll. He's my baby. I promise that I was just as bad with you when you were that age." Rayna defended herself.

The door to the hotel room opened and the four littlest Claybourne's ran in.

"Ya'll go wash your hands. You've been playin' with fish all day." Deacon directed them to the bathroom before they could stop to do anything else. "Jimmy, you go get in the damn shower. That river has all kinda crap in it."

"I'm goin' you ain't gotta tell me twice." JC took stripped down to his underwear.

"What happened to you, babe?" Maddie sounded amused.

"I damn near lost my favorite fishin' pole and I went in after it." JC answered over his shoulder.

"Jimmy, I woulda bought you a new fishing pole. That was stupid." Maddie scolded him.

"A good fishin' pole, a good guitar, and a good woman aren't easy to replace. If you're on the verge of losin' any of those things you gotta go after 'em." JC winked at her.

"You sure you wanna marry him?" Daphne asked.

"He's working on making me less sure about my answer every day." Maddie groaned.

"You'll change your mind back and forth a thousand different times. Hell, you'll even change your mind after you marry him." Rayna laughed.

"That is a comforting thought. Thank you for that, mom." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to like the person you're married to all the time. You don't even have to like them most of the time. That's the common misconception that you have to always be head over heels in love with your spouse. That ain't what real love is 'bout. Real love is 'bout bein' with the person you want to get on your nerves for the rest of your life." Deacon offered up some of his Man Wisdom.

"Listen to your father. He has the most stable marriage of anyone I've ever known. Even when we have a huge fight I know that come tomorrow we are still gonna be together." Rayna told her.

"That's the level of love and trust that we have between us. We can say or do horrible things to each other and neither one of us will walk away. We survived my alcoholic rock bottom and we survived a lie that most people wouldn't be able to get past. We got older and wiser. We learned to lean into each other instead of fightin' against each other. We are in this really great place and we have this amazin' life together. But, that doesn't mean that we get along or like each other every second of every day." Deacon explained.

"There is something wrong with you two when it comes to each other. I need wine to deal with you." Daphne shook her head.

"Listen to my little uptown princess she has to have wine." Deacon teased.

"I don't think anyone on the face of this earth has what you two have. You've spoiled us when it comes to relationships. I know that what I have with Jimmy is pretty damn perfect, but it can't even come close to touching whatever is between you guys." Maddie wasn't going to ignore relationship advice from her parents.

"I would like to reiterate my previous statement. I'm never getting married. There is no way that I'm gonna find anything close to what they have. I've always been a dud at relationships. I've never had anything that remotely resembles even what Maddie and Jimmy have." Daphne grumbled.

"Not everyone is meant to have that perfect high school relationship that you think will last forever and get crushed with it doesn't. You're lucky enough that you get to kiss all your frogs first and you'll never be plagued by that feelin' that you're missin' out on somethin'." Deacon imparted some of his wisdom on her.

"Your daddy would know. He kissed a whole lotta frogs." Rayna gave him a look.

"You were the only woman who ever broke my heart. They meant nothin' to me they were just bed fillers." Deacon smiled at her. He leaned over and kissed her.

"Lord, the mouth on you. And damn, babe, you smell like a fish." Rayna pushed him away.

"I need to go wash up. First, I have some pictures to show you. I gotta wait for the babies though. They will get mighty upset with me if I show you without them." Deacon replied.

"Well, we can't have the babies being upset." Rayna smirked at him.

The kids came back into the room at that moment.

"Daddy, did you show momma yet?" Charlie asked him.

"Nope, I was waitin' on you." Deacon replied.

"Show her, I'm excited." Charlie urged him.

Deacon pulled a picture up on his phone and showed it to Rayna. "Look at the fish Pistol caught."

"Oh, my goodness, Charlie, that is such a big fish. Did you out fish daddy and the boys again?" Rayna and her youngest daughter may have had different personalities, but that didn't mean she wasn't proud of her every time she excelled at something she liked to do.

"I almost always do, momma." Charlie grinned brightly.

"That's my girl." Rayna high fived her.

"I need to go shower. Let them show you the rest of the pictures." Deacon handed her his phone. He stripped off his shirt and walked back to their room.

"Ya'll come show me these pictures. I wanna see how much fun you had with daddy and Jimmy today." Rayna patted the couch next to her.

"We had so much fun with daddy and Jimmy like always." Jack was the first one to climb on the couch next to her.

"Daddy and Jimmy let you kids do things that you're not supposed to do that's why you have fun with them." Maddie shook her head.

JC walked out of the bathroom in his boxer briefs and a t-shirt. "While Deacon is busy I got somethin' to show ya'll." He pulled up a picture on his phone. It was the picture he had taken of Deacon and Charlie. "Look at those two. They just stare at each other and don't even realize it. I have some other good ones too. I'm gettin' 'em all printed out for his Father's Day present."

"Seriously, babe, you kiss his ass any harder and there is gonna be a permanent brown stain on the tip of your nose." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I ain't kissin' his ass he's my friend. You need to be sweet to me." JC frowned.

"And you need to put some pants on, boy." Rayna arched her eyebrow at him.

"Why? Everythin' important is covered." JC looked down.

"There is an eight-year-old little girl in the room." Rayna pointed out to him.

"An eight-year-old little girl who has two brothers by the names of Deac and Jayme. They whip it out whenever and wherever." JC pointed out to her.

"This goes on the list of conversations that I never saw myself having. Deacon John and Jaymes Wyatt, you both know better than that." Rayna scolded the twins.

"Sometimes you just gotta go, momma." Deac defended himself. He shrugged his shoulders.

Rayna rolled her eyes and shook her head. "The joys of havin' sons."

* * *

"Do you have everything that you need for a day out with the kids?" Rayna asked Deacon.

"Yes, babe, we will be fine. You need to relax." Deacon replied.

"I don't have time to relax right now. I'm getting ready for Maddie's bridal shower. This is gonna be a pain in the ass and I need to know that at least you and the babies are gonna be ok for the day." Rayna sighed.

"Babe, the caterers are here. They want to know where to start setting things up." Tandy came into the kitchen.

"Have 'em set up on the patio. I think that'll be the easiest. The weather is supposed to be nice all day." Rayna said after giving it some thought.

"Whatever you need, boss." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"Say it like you mean it." Rayna shot back.

"Never, you know that this is how we speak to each other." Tandy winked at her. She laughed and made her way back to the caterers.

"Am I takin' Charlie with me or are you makin' her stay here?" Deacon crossed his arms over his chest.

"She's gotta stay. I know that she doesn't wanna stay, but she has to. I know that she isn't gonna like it. I'm prepared with a bribe. I bought this child the Rolls Royce of fishin' poles. I think that's enough to buy me an afternoon of good behavior. At least I hope it is." Rayna scrunched her face up and folded her hands as if in prayer.

"She's a good girl she'll roll with it." Deacon reassured her.

"What do you have planned with the boys for the day?" Rayna asked him.

"Bass Pro, the record store, a few other places that I know they like. You probably aren't gonna wanna look at the credit card statement. I don't know how much today is gonna cost me. I've gotta get those boys in for their final tux fittin' and they ain't gonna be happy 'bout it. I'm gonna bribe 'em for havin' to go through that." Deacon answered.

"We have become those parents." Rayna laughed.

"If you mean world class parents then hell yeah we have." Deacon stole a kiss from her.

"I love you. Have a better time today than I'm gonna have." Rayna rested her forehead against his.

"I will try. Love you too. Do you wanna meet up for dinner?" Deacon took her hand and laced their fingers together.

"This thing should be over by dinner time. I will meet you anywhere of your choosing." Rayna agreed readily.

"I will swing by and pick ya'll up after. I'm gonna take the boys and check up on Buck make sure that he's not gettin' too bored. Maybe show him my album sales and give him somethin' to obsess over." Deacon offered.

"That is a great idea, babe. Remember he has high blood pressure too. Don't do anythin' to upset him." Rayna cautioned him.

"I know. I got this under control, babe." Deacon reassured her.

"Have a good time." Rayna kissed him again.

"You too, babe." Deacon smiled against her lips.

Charlie came into the kitchen with a frown on her face. "I'm not wearin' that dress."

"Well, I'm not gonna be havin' a lot of fun." Rayna sighed. "Charlie, it's just for a couple hours."

"I don't wanna wear it. I don't even wanna be here. I wanna go with daddy." Charlie pouted.

"That makes two of us. I wanna go with your daddy too. I'm not gettin' what I want either. This is for your sister. Did you not see the fishin' pole I left with the dress? I'm doin' the best I can for ya here. What do you want? What do you need? Help me help you here." Rayna bargained with her.

"I need my own huntin' dog." Charlie started out big.

"No way, but nice try. Why don't you try somethin' else?" Rayna snorted.

"I need a new huntin' knife." Charlie tried again.

"Whatever kind you want. You can go pick it out yourself. I will even take you. We can have a momma and Charlie day. No boys and no older sisters allowed. Do we have a deal?" Rayna held her hand out to her.

"Deal," Charlie agreed. She and Rayna slapped hands and then snapped their fingers.

"Go upstairs and get changed." Rayna pointed in the direction she wanted her to go in.

"I'm goin'." Charlie went upstairs.

"Have I ever told you how cute it is that you two have a handshake?" Deacon grinned widely.

"You find it adorable, I know." Rayna put her hands on his cheeks. "Now, listen to me and read my lips. If you come back home with a huntin' dog for her I will kill you." She smiled sweetly.

"That is not gonna happen. You love me and would miss me too much if you killed me. And if I were gonna get her a dog I'd take her to pick it out." Deacon put his hands on top of hers.

"You're not gettin' her a dog, Deacon John." Rayna pinched his cheeks.

"We will see 'bout that." Deacon retorted.

* * *

"Deacon, mini Deacons, come in. I'm glad to have visitors." Bucky opened the front door of his house.

"We thought that you could do with some visitors." Deacon took off his sunglasses and clipped them to the front of his shirt.

"You were right about that. The first hour without Tandy was perfect. The second hour was pretty damn good too. The third hour was golden. I'm startin' to get a little bored now." Bucky replied.

"You won't have to worry 'bout bein' bored with them 'round." Deacon went inside.

"You're gonna leave those three outside alone?" Bucky asked.

"The older two will watch the little one. I can see 'em through the window. Plus, it'll give us time to talk before they get up in here and start payin' attention to you." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you gonna do that thing where you get all concerned about me or can we have a normal conversation? I'm so sick of talking about how I feel and about my health. Do you have anything else that we can talk about?" Bucky asked.

"I know that Ray temporarily changed the passwords and locked you outta the business accounts. I have my album sales for you to look at." Deacon took his work iPad out and pulled up his work album sales for him.

"Let me see that." Bucky took it from him and studied the information in front of him. "That's another home run, Deacon. These numbers are exceptional. You could teach your daughter a thing or two. Those are the kinda numbers I like to see an album drop with. You don't even have a Rayna duet as a built-in safety net on this one. She normally gives you a little bit of a bump."

"I thought those numbers would make you happy. We are capable of launchin' an album without ya. We did fine and the label hasn't been burned to the ground without you there to handle things." Deacon reassured him.

"Imagine that, you and Ray do know how to behave like adults when you have to." Bucky nodded thoughtfully.

"We are good at our jobs. We may act like juveniles sometimes, but we can handle ourselves." Deacon grinned.

"This is the first time you've ever proven it by me." Bucky snorted.

"I know. You keep all the trains runnin' on time and you know what you're doin' better than we do." Deacon placated him.

"Don't patronize me, Deacon. I have a wife who is all over my ass right now. If I sneeze she's taking my temperature. I don't need you giving me hell too." Bucky glared at him.

"Sorry, Buck," Deacon apologized.

"Don't worry about it. You know how the red headed dragon sisters get. There's no stopping them once they get their minds set on something." Bucky rolled his eyes.

"One of these days they are gonna hear us call them that and we are gonna be in huge trouble." Deacon chuckled.

"That's the least inflammatory thing we say about them. I think we will survive." Bucky laughed with him.

"We'll survive until they hear us say the wrong thing anyway." Deacon pointed out.

"They are more bark than bite at least mostly." Bucky shrugged his shoulders.

"They both have 'bout ten rows of teeth that they ain't afraid to sink into ya if they get good and pissed off." Deacon retorted.

"I can't disagree with you there." Bucky replied.

"Come out with the boys and me. We are doin' some shoppin' 'round town today. I think you could use the fresh air and the time outta the house." Deacon offered.

"Sure, that sounds great. I can't tell you the last time I've been out of this house and it wasn't doctor related." Bucky jumped on board quickly.

* * *

"Ok, ladies, it's time for a game. I hope that no one in this room is easily offended, because we left this up to Casey and most of us know what she's like." Rayna announced.

"Ray, we all have a Casey. That one friend we know isn't fit to be out in public, but we still hang out with them anyway." Hailey piped up.

"Maddie has a Casey and a Juliette. It's a wonder she's a functioning member of society." Rayna teased.

"Hey!" Juliette protested.

"I won't deny what I am." Casey sounded like she was proud of herself.

"Casey, you have the damn questions just read them." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"This game is how well do you know the bride and groom. I had to dig deep for these questions, so ya'll appreciate my efforts." Casey smirked. "I'll start out easy. Where did they meet?"

"Rayna and Deacon's wedding." Sadie came up with the answer.

"From the moment she met him she denied that she liked him that way." Daphne added.

"How old were they when they met?" Casey asked another question.

"She was fifteen and he was eighteen." Scarlett knew that answer without having to think about it.

"That's right." Casey checked that off the list. "Everyone who has ever spent two minutes around those two should know the answer to this one. What does Jimmy call Maddie?"

"Cricket," The whole room answered.

"Now, this gets tougher. What is Cricket short for?" Casey asked.

"Cross Eyed Cricket," Juliette answered.

"What city were they in when they officially started datin'?" Casey moved down her list.

"That would be Dallas." Rayna threw out there.

"Casey, I can see the look on your face right now. I am begging you. If you care anything about me not to ask what I think you're about to ask." Maddie put her head in hands and groaned.

Casey smirked. "What was the first trip they took together?" She laughed at the look on Maddie's face.

"That was not what I thought you were gonna ask." Maddie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you really think I was gonna ask 'bout you two doin' the dirty in the barn'?" Casey said what Maddie hadn't wanted her to say.

"Casey, stop talking." Maddie had to laugh at her.

"The answer you're lookin' for is Knoxville. Jimmy had a show there and they went together." Charlie volunteered.

"Charlie, I kinda love that you know that." Maddie smiled at her baby sister.

"Let's back up a minute. The barn? Miss Maddie, I do believe you do have a little of your Aunt Dottie in you after all." Dottie of course jumped right on that.

"We are not talking about that, Aunt Dottie. I know that you would love to discuss that, but not happening." Maddie blushed bright red.

"Ok, Charlie, why don't you take your younger cousins in the playroom and watch them? Casey and Aunt Dottie have both behaved as long as can be reasonably expected of them." Rayna suggested.

"If I do that can I take this stupid dress off?" Charlie asked.

"You sure can. And you can remind me to never again make you do something against your will." Rayna told her.

"Alright," Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, little people, come on. Let's go play." She led her little cousins out of the room.

"Mom, I told you not to make her stay for this. She's been as good as gold like usual, but she's been miserable. If this wedding stuff doesn't get over with soon she's never gonna speak to me again." Maddie chuckled.

"Do not get off topic. You, your cowboy, the barn." Dottie urged her.

"His sister is sitting right there, you old pervert." Maddie pointed at Hailey.

"I know you won't get graphic. I'm with Aunt Dottie you've gotta spill now." Hailey wasn't letting her off the hook that easily.

"Our first time together was in the hay loft in the barn. That's really all there is to it." Maddie stayed as vague as possible.

"Durin' my weddin' reception." Scarlett added.

"Yeah, we were guilty of that. We were two horny teenagers. You may wanna ask someone else in this room what her excuse is." Maddie looked in Rayna's direction.

"She has you there, babe." Tandy hid a smirk behind her hand.

"I will not apologize for havin' a healthy sex life. You people are all too damn concerned with my sex life. I don't pry into yours nor do I wanna know." Rayna didn't even bother to deny it.

"No one else behaves like a couple of teenagers the way you two do." Tandy retorted.

"Casey, your big mouth started this. Get them goin' on a new topic." Rayna ran a hand through her hair.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	62. Chapter 62

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 62

"Where are those men when you need one of 'em?" Casey struggled to open a champagne bottle.

"Give it here, girl. I don't need a man to open that kind of bottle for me." Rayna took the bottle from her. She opened it with minimal effort.

"Damn, Momma Ray, look at those skills. Where'd you learn how to do that? You have a shady past that we don't know about don't you?" Casey teased her.

"My past isn't shady. I just lived with a couple of drunks." Rayna drank straight from the bottle. "The distinguished silver haired woman sittin' next to me included." She passed the bottle to Dottie.

"This right here is why your cousin insists that I keep Keith around." Dottie replied. It didn't stop her from taking a drink.

"Maddie, I want to be your Aunt Dottie when I grow up." Casey announced.

"You'll have to get in line for that. I'm pretty sure that my mom is gonna turn into Aunt Dottie one of these days." Maddie retorted.

"She's already just like Aunt Dottie. You don't have to wait for that to happen." Tandy threw out there.

"From where I sit that's not a bad thing." Hailey chimed in.

"I like that one I always have." Dottie smiled at Hailey.

"You liked Vince. I'm pretty sure that you and Vince drank more together than you and Deacon ever did." Rayna laughed.

"Vince liked to day drink and he didn't hold a job most of the time." Dottie shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyway, Tandy, how's Bucky doin'?" Sadie asked.

"He's doing very well. He's responding to the treatments. He's having a little problem with his appetite." Tandy answered.

"I have somethin' that can help him with that." Casey volunteered.

"Aunt Tandy, just say no. No one needs Casey's brand of help." Daphne cautioned her.

"I've seen the inside of Casey's purse you really wanna say no." Juliette added.

"Casey, you still carry that in your purse? My dad is close personal friends with a police lieutenant. His daughter happens to be my brother's very good friend. If I have my way she'll be Deac's girlfriend one day. That's besides, the point right now. The point is you really don't wanna get caught carrying that. That's a PR nightmare. Dad isn't Uncle Buck he'll make you clean up your own mess." Maddie gave her a look.

"Bucky and my publicist both hate me. I cause trouble all the time. I don't carry enough to go to prison. I carry enough that I'll get a ticket at the most. Stop worryin' so much about me." Casey dismissed her concern.

"Someone needs to worry about you. Are you associating with your dad again? The only reason you ever talk to him is when your stash is running low." Maddie questioned.

"Casey, plead the fifth. On the advice of counsel, you're not sayin' another word. I don't want anyone in this room to ever have to lie in a court of law." Hailey called her down.

"Hypothetically speakin', that is the only thing my daddy is good for. On the advice of my lawyer I have nothin' else to say on the matter." Casey replied.

"Why are we speakin' in code? No one here gives a damn that the girl has a little bit of pot in her purse." Dottie rolled her eyes.

"Aunt Dottie, this is one of those times that I don't even wanna know." Tandy shook her head at her.

"It's pot. It's not like the girl has cocaine. Ya'll need to relax." Dottie waved off her concern.

"My deadbeat dad is good for one thing. He does have the best connections when it comes to pot." Casey chuckled lightly.

"Casey, I didn't know that you were on speakin' terms with your daddy again." Rayna eyed her warily. In the decade, she'd known her she'd seen Casey go through the wringer with her parents.

"You don't have to worry 'bout it, Momma Ray. I figured out a long time ago that I can be casual friends with my daddy. My mother is another story, but we won't get into that. They aren't my family. Ya'll are my family." Casey assured her.

"I just want you to be careful." Rayna told her.

"I've known since I was nine that I have to be careful with those two idiots. That's why I got my GED at seventeen and never looked back. I got my dad to sign my contract with Luke and then I got my emancipation papers. I had to keep them away from my money." Casey explained.

"Casey, what does your dad do again?" Daphne asked her.

"Ya'll really like to tease me 'bout this. As far as the IRS knows my father is in construction. Off paper he's the president of a motorcycle gang. I don't know what all that entails. I just know that I stay out of it." Casey retorted.

"That's right your dad is a member of the Hell's Angels." Maddie teased her.

"He wishes. He's an Armadillo King." Casey had to laugh at that one.

"Your father is Texan?" Hailey asked.

"I'm from Beaumont." Casey confirmed.

"Will and Jimmy are both from the Dallas Fort Worth area, you're from Beaumont, and Gunnar is from Austin. I officially know one too many Texans." Scarlett commented.

"Will and Jimmy go down as bein' the most Texan outta anyone on that list." Casey defended herself.

"Jimmy technically isn't a Texan. That boy was born over at Vanderbilt Hospital. He's spent more time in Tennessee than he ever did in Texas. I just don't have the heart to break it to him. I remember the day momma and daddy brought him home. I think baby girl was three and I was very pregnant with MJ. I raised that kid despite what anyone else has to say." Hailey replied.

"Really?" Casey gave her a look.

"You're not the only one who has the market cornered on terrible parents. With the exception of a couple people in this room we all had terrible parents." Hailey pointed at Maddie and Daphne.

"We got lucky." Maddie smiled at Rayna.

"You really did. I have an alcoholic daddy and a momma with poor taste in men. Her second husband like to use her as a punchin' bag. He tried to raise a hand to me and I thought Vince was gonna kill him. They beat the shit outta each other. That's when daddy finally stepped in and ran him off. And they remarried for reasons that still escape me." Hailey muttered the last part.

"Vince threw many punches on my account. Him and Deacon ended up teaching me to defend myself if I had to, because we could no longer afford bail money." Rayna supplied. "Speakin' of Deacon. I need to call that husband of mine. He's had my baby out all day."

"Ya'll realize if any of you were alone with Deacon all day it wouldn't be a big deal." Casey looked between Maddie and Daphne.

"This isn't about dad being a bad parent. This is about Jack. She abnormally attached to him." Maddie bit her lip to hide a grin.

"Abnormally attached is putting it nicely. When he goes off to college they are gonna have to give her an adjoining dorm room." Daphne added.

"That's enough out of you two. He is my last baby. Ya'll need to cut me some slack." Rayna pointed her finger at them.

"You only think she's lettin' him go to college. She can't even drop him off at preschool." Sadie pointed out.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure that everyone knows that he's your baby including your baby girl." Maddie gave her a look.

"I don't know why I want to hang out with any of you. All you do is make fun of me." Rayna rolled her eyes. Maddie's last comment did get the wheels in her head turning though.

* * *

Rayna crept into Charlie's room and laid down in bed next to her. She ran her fingers through the little girl's hair. "Wake up, sweet girl."

"Momma," Charlie sat up and answered groggily.

"Get up and get dressed, sleepy head. I wanna take you somewhere. We gotta hurry up and sneak out without wakin' your brothers up. We are gonna have a momma and Charlie day." Rayna whispered to her.

Charlie grinned sleepily. "Really?"

"Yeah, really, I've got somethin' special planned for the two of us. Put on your best pair of boots and jeans and then meet me out in the garage." Rayna tickled her sides.

"Ok, momma," Charlie giggled and got out of bed.

Rayna headed down to the garage to get things ready.

"Momma, it's still dark out. What are we doin' up this early?" Charlie yawned.

"You'll see in a little while. Get in the car." Rayna opened the passenger door of her convertible.

"You never let any of us ride in Betty." Charlie climbed in excitedly.

"I think I can make an exception for my baby girl." Rayna got behind the wheel.

"Where are we goin'?" Charlie asked.

"You ask too many questions. You'll see when we get there. You can go on to sleep for a little while. I'll wake you when we get where we're goin'." Rayna laughed at her softly. She drove them out to her mother's property. She woke Charlie when they got there.

"Where are we, momma?" Charlie looked around, but she couldn't really place where they were.

"We are at a place that is very special to me. My momma used to bring me here when I was little. I wanted to bring you here, because you're very special to me too." Rayna smiled at her.

"Well, what are we doin'?" Charlie didn't like being in the dark. She was naturally curious and liked knowing how things worked.

"Get out of the car and you'll see." Rayna got out of the car and opened the trunk. She took a blanket out of the back and laid it on the hood of the car. "Climb on up."

Charlie lifted herself up and laid back with her hands behind her head.

Rayna laid next to her. "So, while we wait for what we're waitin' for I thought that we could talk."

"About what?" Charlie asked.

"Do you feel like I pay enough attention to you?" Rayna turned her head so she could study the little girl's face.

"I guess so." Charlie answered quietly. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I know that I'm really close to your sisters. I am close to your brothers. I know that I put a lot of attention on Jack. I was just wondering if you know how much I love you." Rayna replied.

"I know you love me, momma. I just don't think we have much in common." Charlie's reply was measured.

"You're right, we don't. You are so brave. It took a lot of courage for you to say that to me. I owe you the same in return. I don't always understand you. You and I are two very different people. Your sisters and I have all these girly things that we like to do together. We've always been that way. You aren't like that and that's ok. You have an advantage that even I don't have. You're comfortable in your own skin. I'm proud of you for that. Just because you and I don't have much in common doesn't mean that you aren't one of the great loves of my life, baby girl." Rayna stroked her cheek gently.

"Sometimes I worry that you get disappointed that I'm not more like you, Maddie, and Daphne. I don't wanna let you down or anythin' like that. Daddy is easy to please he's not just my daddy, he's my buddy. I think you'd like it better if I were more like Maddie and Daphne." Charlie admitted.

Rayna gathered her up in her arms. "Baby, that is not true at all. I love you just the way you are. How could I ever be disappointed to have such an amazin' daughter? I know you and your daddy are very close. I love that you two are so close. If you feel any distance between you and me that's my fault. I felt bad for keepin' Maddie from your daddy when she was little, so I guess I tried to make up for that with you. I was so focused on that I forgot that you needed both of us. I love you so much and I'm proud of you. I don't have to always understand you for those two things to be true." She kissed her cheek.

"I love you too, momma. Daddy and I just understand each other better and that's ok. We are just a lot alike." Charlie replied.

"You are too smart and independent for your own good. I like that you can take care of yourself, but don't you go growin' up too much just yet. I still have a lot of work to do with you. Just because you and I have different interests doesn't mean that we aren't a lot alike too." Rayna pointed out to her.

"You think I'm like you?" Charlie's eyes got big.

"I don't just think it. I know it. You're hardheaded and stubborn to a fault. Whatever you want you get because you set your mind on it and don't stop until you've accomplished what you set out to do. You did not get that from your daddy. Well, maybe the stubbornness you did get from your daddy. Nothin' will ever keep either of you from gettin' back up when you've been knocked down." Rayna stroked her hair gently.

"Now, what are we doin' out here momma?" Charlie asked.

"Watch right there. Any minute now you'll see why we came up here." Rayna pointed at spot to the east over the river.

A few minutes later the sun came up over the river.

"Momma, that is so pretty." Charlie marveled.

"I know. Your mawmaw used to bring me up here to watch the sun come up. You're the first one of my kids that I've ever brought here this time of day. She used to bring me up here in this car, as a matter of fact." Rayna told her. The sunrise over the river was still enough to take her breath away.

"You really miss your momma, don't you?" Charlie asked her.

"I miss her every day. I was as close to my momma as you are to your daddy. You know what though? Your mawmaw would have loved you to death." Rayna held on to her a little tighter.

"What else are we gonna do today, momma?" Charlie questioned.

"I promised you a new hunting knife. We are gonna go get that. Then we have a couple more stops to make. One of them is at the recording studio. Your daddy and I have been meetin' each other comin' and goin' lately. He laid down his part of a song we're workin' on and now I need to do mine. It shouldn't take long." Rayna told her.

"Sounds like fun, momma." Charlie grinned.

First Rayna and Charlie hit up Bass Pro and they bought a whole lot more than just a hunting knife. From there they went to the studio for Rayna to put down her part of the track for her and Deacon's song.

"Charlie, what do you wanna do for lunch?" Rayna asked her as she got behind the wheel of the car.

"Oh, I don't really care." Charlie shrugged.

Rayna's phone rang before she could reply. She sighed when she checked it and saw that it was Maddie. She had promised Charlie the whole day just the two of them.

"You can answer that, momma. I'm sure whatever it is, is important to Maddie." Charlie told her meekly.

"Sweetie, this is your sister we're talkin' 'bout. Everythin' is important to her. She thinks she's the center of the universe." Rayna rolled her eyes. She answered her phone before it could go to voicemail. "Hello, Madison, what can I do for you?"

"You could not call me Madison. I didn't do anything wrong. I was hoping that you would wanna come shopping with me today. I need to get stuff for the house and I want to pick out a bedroom suit." Maddie's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Can you wait a few hours or maybe until tomorrow? I'm with your sister right now and I'm not gonna rush through this. We still have a couple things that we need to do." Rayna replied.

"Mom, this is at least a two-day project. I really need to get started on this. We are gonna be moving in soon and I would like to have my furniture." Maddie whined a little.

"Maddie, I don't have time for this right now. I can link up with you later this afternoon. I promise you that we will get you ready to move in. I gotta go. I love you, bye." Rayna hung up before Maddie could say anything else. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm craving a good milkshake. What do you say we can go somewhere that we can get one?" She turned her attention back to Charlie.

"You can go help Maddie if she really needs you." Charlie offered.

"No way, I have plans with you. Maddie can wait. What about that milkshake?" Rayna changed the subject.

"I think that sounds good, momma." Charlie smiled widely.

"I know just the spot then." Rayna patted her knee. Then they did their handshake.

* * *

"You got a good grip on that, old man, or are you gonna let it slip?" JC asked Deacon.

"Don't call me old man. That's what I call my father. I've got a good grip on it get the damn nails in before it gets too heavy." Deacon spoke through gritted teeth.

They were down at the barn that he and Maddie were gonna get married in fixing it up. Deacon was holding up a shutter that they had just repainted while JC used a hammer and a nail to fasten it back on.

"Alright, I got it." JC dropped his hammer. He took off his gloves and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Deacon pulled his shirt off. "Thank God. My chest isn't as healed as I thought it was. I'm still a little tender."

"Hey, Jack Henry, go over to the metal tub get me a beer and get your daddy a root beer. My bottles have mountains on the label your daddy's are just glass. Deac, Jayme, I need the hand saw and the bucket of nails." JC got the three little boys moving.

"You have my toddler shaggin' beers?" Deacon laughed.

"I sure do. It's good for him." JC retorted.

"You just sounded exactly like your daddy. You were a little bitty ol' thing and he'd put two beers in your hands and he'd have you bring 'em to me. He told you that Uncle Deac had to double fist it 'cause Aunt Ray drove him to drinkin'." Deacon recalled fondly.

"From what I know 'bout my daddy that sounds like him." JC grinned.

"You have no idea how much like him you really are." Deacon informed him.

"That's all I ever hear from my momma and daddy. How much like Vince I am. I swear when they look at me they don't see me they see him. That's part of the reason I had to get outta Texas. I couldn't be Vince's replacement. I couldn't stand the looks on their faces every time they stared at me." JC told him.

"Vinny couldn't take it either. It was too much pressure for him. Your daddy was a lot smarter than he ever let on or anyone ever gave him credit for. He could have run the hell outta that company. What he couldn't handle was Big Jack lookin' over his shoulder every day for the rest of his life. That and he never forgave him for not fightin' harder for your momma. He blamed him for every time that Tom put his hands on Dixie." Deacon explained to him.

"That and he was an addict who was never gonna kick his demons 'cause he didn't really wanna." JC observed.

"The night he died he talked 'bout goin' to rehab. I think that even if he had been clean he was still one of those people who were supposed to die young. Don't listen to all the other bullshit that everyone says about him. He loved you dearly. He doted on you. You were the light of his life. Don't ever doubt that he loved you." Deacon put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it affectionately.

"I don't need anyone to tell me that he loved me. But, thank you for the reminder, Pop." JC smiled at him.

"You're welcome, son." Deacon smiled and cuffed him on the side of the head lightly.

"Did I get the right ones, Jimmy?" Jack walked over carrying two bottles.

"You sure did. You are such a good shagger." JC took his beer from him.

"Thank you, Henry, give daddy a kiss." Deacon took his soda and puckered his lips.

Jack kissed his dad on the mouth. "I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, Henry." Deacon opened his soda and took a drink. "Here, it's hot. Get you a drink."

Jack held the bottle in both of his hands and took a sip.

Deac and Jayme came back from getting the tools.

"Ya'll get you a soda too. I don't want ya gettin' too hot. Lord knows that your momma will have my ass if I let ya get over heated." Deacon ordered them.

"You're not supposed to give Jack soda." Deac pointed out to him.

"No, Henry ain't supposed to have caffeine it makes him a little crazy man. Root beer doesn't have caffeine in it. Every now and then it's good for him though." Deacon patted him on the back.

"Is this one of those things that we shouldn't tell momma 'bout?" Jayme asked.

"We shouldn't tell momma that Jimmy had Henry shaggin' beers for him." Deacon whispered to him loudly.

"You can't tell momma that. She would be super pissed off." Maddie walked down from her Jeep.

"Maddie sounds like she is kinda pissed off." JC took his cowboy hat off long enough to take his shirt off and then he put it back on.

"I am kinda pissed off. My mother hung up on me. I asked her to go shopping for stuff for the house with me and she said she had plans with Charlie right now and couldn't get to me until later. Then she hung up the phone before I could say anything else." Maddie groused. "Jack Henry, come here, bubby. I need to put more sunblock on you. I know that daddy and Jimmy probably didn't think to do it."

Jack stomped over to her. "Ok, put more sunblock on me. I don't understand why I always have to have so much put on."

"Because you're pasty and redheaded like momma." Maddie slathered him down with sunblock.

"Maddie, my princess, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the world doesn't revolve around you. Your momma and Charlie don't take much time just the two of them and they needed this. Rayna and Charlie are as different as night and day. Every now and then I think your momma remembers that she has another daughter and she needs to try to bond with her." Deacon told her flatly.

"It sounds like I hit a nerve." Maddie snorted.

"Charlie realizes that she's different than you and Daphne. She knows that she doesn't have as much in common with your momma as ya'll do. Me and her are super close, but still I think she needs to be reminded that your momma loves her just the way she is." Deacon replied.

"What's not to love 'bout Charlie? If she were older and I weren't madly in love with the princess there I'd probably be marryin' her." JC teased a little bit.

"Hey, you're gettin' one of my daughters don't be messin' with me when it comes to my baby girl." Deacon warned him.

"Way to be an ass, babe. Maybe you can go for her as your second wife." Maddie slapped his chest playfully.

"You're gonna be my first and only wife. You ain't gotta worry 'bout that." JC pulled her close to him and kissed her.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Just to take the temperature out there how many of you wanna see another baby Claybourne? Or would you rather see Rayna and Deacon together on their world tour? I'm gonna rip the band aid off and stop dragging this wedding out. Next chapter we will get into the good stuff. Until next time please review.


	63. Chapter 63

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 63

"Well, I think it's safe to say that this finally looks like a home and not just a house that sat vacant for five years." Rayna looked around the living room of Maddie and JC's new home. They had spent the last week painting and moving the furniture in so that everything would be ready when Maddie and JC got back from their honeymoon.

"Thanks for all your help, mom. I don't know what I would have done without you." Maddie hugged her.

"You're welcome, baby girl. I'd do anythin' for you. You know that by now." Rayna hugged her back and smiled.

"I do know that. I'm glad that you have so many connections and we didn't have to do most of this work ourselves." Maddie sighed in relief.

"When I look at you I can't believe that you're all grown up and gettin' married on me in a few days." Rayna's eyes clouded with tears.

"I can't believe it either. This is my home where I'm gonna live with my husband. We are gonna raise our family here. That thought has me freaking out just a little bit." Maddie admitted.

"The thing you have to remember about marriage is every day is a battle and the life you wanna built together is a war. There will be days when one or both of you might want out. That's ok. It's only natural to feel that way. It's fine for you to both retreat to separate corners for a little alone time. You don't have to be together every second of every day. Me, I like to barricade myself in the bathroom for an hour with a couple glasses of wine. Your dad takes his walk around the property every night with the dog." Rayna explained to her.

"Don't sugarcoat it for me or anything." Maddie laughed.

"It's nothin' to be scared about. It's only natural to have some reservations about what you're about to get yourself into. Girl, if you weren't gettin' cold feet I would be worried about you." Rayna gave her a reassuring hug.

"Did you feel that way before you married dad?" Maddie asked her.

"Truthfully, no. I'd had all those feelings about your dad more than a decade before we ever got married. The night before I married your father I was just anxious to have it over with already. I couldn't wait to be married to that man. The night before I married Teddy I seriously considered running away and never looking back. I was really unsure before I married him. I regret that I hurt you and your dad the way I did, but I can't regret Daphne or the fact that Teddy gave me thirteen good years of marriage. But, I've had ten great years with your father. If you're stayin' in somethin' outta obligation that's not love it's just fear of the unknown." Rayna told her.

"How did you know that dad was the one?" Maddie had to be sure.

"I just knew, Maddie. He could piss me off like no one else on the face of this planet can. He made me laugh. There were times that he made me want to kiss him and slap him in the same instant. That man makes me feel alive. He sets all my nerve endings on fire. He looks at me like I'm the only woman in the world even when we are in a room full of people. I can't tell you how I knew he was the one. I can only tell you this when you know you know." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"Am I making a mistake? Am I too young to settle down? Should I still be focusing on my career?" Maddie was second guessing her decision to take the plunge with JC.

"Sweetie, quiet the noise in your head. You're about to make a huge change in your life. It's normal for you to feel this way. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and tell me how Jimmy makes you feel." Rayna took both her daughter's hands in hers.

Maddie closed her eyes and took a cleansing breath. "He looks at me like the sun comes up in the morning because I make it so. He has the ability to calm with the touch of his hand. When he smiles at me I feel warm all over. I never feel safer than when he has his big strong arms wrapped around me. He doesn't have to tell me he loves me I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. When I see him it's like I get twisted up in a knot and I forget how to speak. I love him and I can't imagine my life without him in it."

"I think you just answered your own question then. You want to marry Jimmy more than anythin' you've ever wanted in your life. You're nervous that bein' someone's wife is gonna change you. If he's as lovin' and understandin' as I think he is then you're not gonna change fundamentally just 'cause you're his wife, sweet girl." Rayna kissed her forehead.

"Thanks for talking me down off the ledge, mom." Maddie sounded grateful.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm your momma that's my job. It always has been and it always will be. Don't think that's gonna change just 'cause you're gonna be married soon. I am not losin' you I'm just gainin' a son." Rayna put her hands on both her cheeks and gave her a watery smile.

"Save the waterworks for the wedding, mom. If you cry you're gonna make me cry. If you're such an emotional mess now I hate to think about how dad is faring." Maddie laughed to get her emotions under control.

"Your daddy is in a strong state of denial. Or at least he pretends to be in front of me. I've caught a few times in the doorway of your bedroom just starin' off into space. He looks like a lost puppy dog. If it wasn't so sad it would be adorable. Well, it is adorable how much he loves his kids. He's happy for you though. It's tougher on him than it is on me. I carried you for nine months. I felt every little kick and move you made inside me. The doctor put you in my arms the day you were born and you changed my world completely. I walked the floor with you when you were fussy, I tucked you in and sang you lullabies, and I watched you grow from a baby into the remarkable young woman that you are today. Your daddy didn't get all of that. He wants you to be happy. He loves Jimmy like a son. And you better believe that any grandchildren ya'll give us are gonna be spoiled rotten by their pawpaw." Rayna replied.

"I have trouble bonding with Charlie because of that. Those two are so unbelievably close and I saw how he lit up the day she was born. Sometimes I can't help wondering what if? There is no doubt in my mind that he's gonna spoil my kids. I don't wanna sound like a bitch, but I don't see Big Jack and Dixie doing it or Jimmy letting them for that matter. He's made it clear that he doesn't want the kinda pressure that was put on him put on our future children." Maddie shrugged.

"That boy is Vince Grayson tip to tail and he doesn't even know it." Rayna smiled and shook her head.

"I'm gonna need you to stop hanging around your husband so much. I have a hard enough time understanding dad when he talks. When you've been around him more than usual you stop speaking English and start speaking redneck." Maddie teased her.

"Oh, honey, you don't get to make fun of me. You're marrying a man who was partly raised in Texas. Between the Mississippian and the Texan I used to live with that's why I talk the way I do." Rayna bumped her hip against hers.

"How don't I have an accent?" Maddie wondered out loud.

"Because I was out on the road a lot when you were growing up and you stayed behind with Teddy. Your brothers and your sister all have your daddy's accent. Charlie and Deac do anyway. They have those deep south accents. Jayme and Jack sound a little more like me." Rayna explained.

"Wow, I thought my topic of conversation only swung this widely when I talk to Casey." Maddie replied.

"It happens, kiddo." Rayna laughed at her. "So, are you ready for weddin' week?"

"I'm ready. We have my final dress fitting tomorrow. Jimmy is with Hailey all week and I'll be at home. He's not thrilled about the fact that we aren't having sex this week, but I told him to deal with it. I don't know how I'm gonna deal with it, but I'll be damned if I tell him I was wrong." Maddie groaned.

"I'm giving you a gift. One last night of total freedom before your wedding. Stay at your apartment tonight, but the rest of the week you are at home in your bedroom. It will always be your bedroom and that will always be your home even if you just need to come by for some time away from your extremely handsome new husband." Rayna winked at her.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I wanna stay all week. It'll be good for me." Maddie replied.

"Then you're welcome to stay." Rayna kissed the top of her head.

* * *

"Old man, if I have to listen to you hack like that for another damn minute I'm gonna lose it on you." Deacon glared at Paul from under the hood of an old truck.

"I have a cough, sue me." Paul glared back at him.

"I'm gonna do more than sue ya. I'm gonna bust ya one in the head." Deacon shined a flashlight in his eyes.

Paul put his forearm against his eyes to block the light out. "You little bastard, don't do that to me if you want this truck finished in time for Maddie's weddin'. Your technique is a little rusty and I'm the better mechanic anyway."

"Don't call me a little bastard, you old son of a bitch. I'll have you know that I'm a damn good mechanic and we don't have that much more to do anyway. We already finished all the major stuff." Deacon pointed out to him.

Paul coughed hard into his crook of his elbow and then he picked up a wrench and tightened up a nut. "If you were such a good mechanic I wouldn't have had to tighten that."

"If you think that I'm not a good mechanic you only have yourself to blame. You're the one who taught me everythin' that I know." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"Is there a particular reason for the foul ass mood that you're in or is this just your personality when you're around me?" Paul narrowed his eyes.

"Don't take the mood personally I'm just dealin' with Maddie's weddin' and then those two are headed out on a joint tour that I had to set up. I'm not as good at Bucky's job as he is. It puts me in a bad mood. You're not the only one catchin' blowback from it. Poor Rusty has borne the brunt of it. I wouldn't be surprised if he finally quit on me." Deacon answered.

"Rusty ain't gonna quit. He's been with you so long that I don't think he'd know what to do with himself otherwise. This ain't 'bout you doin' Bucky's job this is 'bout Maddie gettin' married and we both know that." Paul called him on his bullshit.

"This is 'bout Maddie gettin' married. No father is ready for this when it comes to his little girl. I'm even less prepared than normal fathers. I gotta get up at this rehearsal dinner and make some powerful speech 'bout how I was the man who loved her first and he better take good care of my little girl. 'Cept I wasn't the man who loved her first. We've played hell even findin' a song for our father-daughter dance. There ain't one that really fits our situation." Deacon grumbled.

"I know that you ain't lookin' for me to hold your hand or be a shoulder to cry on. You got dealt a shitty hand and that sucks. You've dealt with it a lot better than I would have if I were in that situation. At least Rose told me 'bout Rhett. She gave me the option of bein' in his life and I chose not to take it. I can't blame anyone, but myself for that. I ain't gonna tell you to blame yourself, but I ain't gonna coddle you either. The only thing that matters is when it comes down to it you're there for her every time she needs you. She knows that she can count on you. All she has to do is call you and you come runnin' that's what makes a man a good daddy. I had one like that and that's the kinda daddy you are." Paul told him.

"I know that I'm a good daddy I don't need you to tell me that. I had the perfect example of how not to be a daddy. I just do the opposite of what you woulda done." Deacon shot back.

"You and your brother both have smart ass mouths on ya. You make it damn near impossible to have a pleasant conversation with ya'll." Paul rolled his eyes.

"You know we both got our sparklin' personalities from you. You got no one, but yourself to blame for it." Deacon smirked.

"Stop flappin' your jaws like a woman and help me put the finishin' touches on this truck. It's your daughter we're doin' this for." Paul fired back at him.

"I'm helpin'. Unlike you I can walk and chew gum at the same time." Deacon elbowed him playfully.

"You wanna wrestle we will get down on this floor and wrestle. I ain't so old that I can't still give you a run for your money." Paul challenged him.

"We've been there and done that. We both know how it ended the last time we went at it." Deacon reminded him. "Besides that, I have four kids who love to wrestle I'm in my prime."

Paul sat his wrench down and pulled Deacon into a headlock without warning.

"You're a damn cheater, Old Man," Deacon wrapped his arms around his waist and wrestled him to the floor.

"I ain't a cheater I just believe in the element of surprise." Paul tried to get a better grip on his son.

"You can't win a fair fight without boxin'." Deacon tried to pin him.

Paul fought him off as best he could. "I ain't a punk ass that can only win against women and children I can beat a grown ass man."

"Hell, I know that." Deacon put him in an arm bar. "Tap out, Old Man,"

"No way," Paul elbowed in the abs with his free arm.

"What in the world is goin' on out here? Paul, Deacon, both of you get your asses up off the floor and act like you have some good sense." Rayna walked in on them.

"Can't do that yet, Ray. This old coot needs to tap out. We're just doin' a harmless bit of wrestlin'." Deacon put his knee in the small of Paul's back.

"Deacon, you two are gonna hurt each other. He's an old man and you're post op. You both have horrible tempers one of you will get the better of the other and then the other will get mad and you'll start fightin' for real. I ain't playin' don't make me separate ya'll." Rayna had her hands on her hips.

Paul reared back and head butted Deacon in the chest.

Deacon hissed in pain. "You old son of a bitch."

"Deacon Paul and Deacon John Claybourne, get up off that floor right damn now!" Rayna yelled at them.

"Fine, ruin all our fun." Deacon got up. He offered Paul his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Chest hurt?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"That damn old alligator don't fight fair." Deacon rubbed his chest.

"How am I supposed to fight fair when I have an elephant sittin' on my back?" Paul asked.

"Get in that house and get washed up for dinner. I can't even take you two right now." Rayna pointed towards the door.

They both thought better of arguing with her and they went into the house.

* * *

"Oh, Maddie, look at you. You are so gorgeous." Rayna teared up when she saw her daughter in her wedding dress.

"Thanks, mom. You think it fits alright?" Maddie studied herself in the full-length mirror that was in Liz's shop.

"It fits just fine, but I think I have something for you that's gonna make it fit a little bit better." Rayna handed her a box.

Maddie opened the lid and gasped. "Mom, these shoes are a work of art. You did not have to do this. These shoes have to cost just as much as the dress."

"I did have to do it. It's not every day that my oldest little girl gets married. And since when do you pay attention to price tags? There's a reason that you are always broke before the end of the month." Rayna teased her.

"Thank you," Maddie didn't even argue her poor money management skills.

"Don't thank me. Thank your daddy he paid for them I only picked them out." Rayna replied.

"Deacon, is really setting the bar high. I hope he realizes that he has two other daughters that he's gonna have to roll out the red carpet for when they get married." Tandy observed.

"He will. There's nothing he likes better than spoiling his little girls." Rayna told her. "Maddie, don't just stand there lookin' at those heels put 'em on."

Maddie took the shoes out of the box and stepped into them. "These are perfect." She smiled.

"Those look perfect on you." Casey commented.

"Casey, I'm gonna have to use a heavy hand with the wardrobe tape when it comes to you. Good lord, girl, you're 'bout to spill outta that dress." Liz let out a low whistle.

"I can't help it that I was genetically blessed in the chest department, Liz." Casey defended herself.

"A lot of women were, honey. Those women just don't make the effort to show them off as much as you do." Liz gave her a look.

"Those women don't have to market themselves to teenaged boys either. I play sold out stadium shows now. Those tickets are expensive. They need incentive to wanna buy those tickets for their girlfriends. You're my damn stylist you've seen how tight I wear my pants." Casey adjusted her boobs.

"How are you friends with her?" Hailey asked Maddie.

"Does it help my case if I tell you that when she first came to town I couldn't stand her? She was my rebound from Cash even though back in those days if I would have let my guard down for a minute she would have had Jimmy in bed." Maddie offered.

"I was not the way I am now back then. Jimmy was nice to me and he has a nice ass. You know damn well when I became the way that I am." Casey replied.

"There was a time when we all thought that you two were gonna come to blows over that cowboy." Juliette put her two cents in.

"There was never any danger of that happenin'. Jimmy didn't even know that Casey was flirtin' with him he was so damn taken with Maddie." Scarlett added.

"I guess I might not get it 'cause Jimmy is my baby brother, but I don't know why anyone would want him." Allie rolled her eyes.

"Out of all the Grayson boys I understand why women want Jimmy. He's sweet, thoughtful, and he has a big heart. I understood why Vince had women constantly throwin' their panties at him. He was charmin' as hell. Again, with Jeremy I understand his appeal for a night he's the sexy bad boy type. Bobby I have no damn clue how he keeps gettin' women to marry him. That boy is a few bricks shy of a load." Hailey studied herself in the mirror.

"Bobby has deep pockets that's his appeal. He and I do pretty much the same thing for a living. When you handle the money you have to be careful who you let into your heart." Tandy came to Bobby's defense.

"That I understand. Bobby is a sweet guy. I will never understand how the hell Vince got all the women that he got." Allie retorted.

"Your big brother had a way about him. I couldn't stand his ass half the time, but I saw it time after time. That man coulda sold a bible to an atheist." Rayna laughed.

"I think Jimmy picked up that trait. My house is out in the boonies. I was perfectly happy in the Gulch. He flashed those deep brown eyes at me and I let him have what he wanted." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I am familiar with that particular issue. You have to learn that you can win the majority of your arguments, but you can't win 'em all. That is the best marriage advice I can give you. Nine times out of ten he is gonna give you your way, so one tenth of the time you have to give him somethin' that he really wants." Rayna advised her.

* * *

Maddie sat on the edge of her bed playing her guitar. She smiled when she looked up and saw Deacon standing in her doorway holding a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. "Hey, daddy, what are you doing?"

"I was just listenin' to you play. You looked so peaceful and happy." Deacon leaned up against the doorframe.

"This is as much peace as I'm gonna get this week. I am enjoying it. You don't have to stand there you can come in." Maddie patted the spot on the bed next to her.

Deacon came in and sat down next to her. He sat the plate on her nightstand. "Yeah, the last few days leading up to your wedding can be pretty damn hectic. It's worth it in the end."

"I think Jimmy is worth all the trouble." Maddie grinned.

"Maddie, I love you, so I've gotta ask you this question. Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" Deacon had a serious look on his face.

"Mom has assured me that it's ok to have conflicting feelings about my upcoming wedding. I'm as sure as I can be right now. Dad, it's Jimmy. He was the first man I ever loved in the romantic sense and he will be the only man I ever love that way. I can't stand the thought of living the rest of my life without him in it. I wanna be his wife and I wanna have his babies." Maddie answered him.

"That's all I needed to hear. The only thing I want is your happiness. I can see the way he makes you light up and I know that he's a good boy. When he came to me and ask me for your hand in marriage I asked him some questions in return. He answered them exactly the way I wanted him to. I knew then that I was right to say yes." Deacon informed her.

"What did you ask him?" Maddie's curiosity got the better of her.

"I asked him if he was sure. I asked him if he could take you the way that you are. And I asked him if he was in for life. I couldn't have you marryin' a man who was just askin' so he didn't lose ya. I didn't want you with a man who needed you to make yourself small so he could feel big. I also didn't want you with a man who is gonna run at the first sign of trouble. I didn't need to ask him those questions. I already knew what his answer was gonna be. I've known for years now that he was the only man worthy of your love." Deacon put his hand on her knee.

"You couldn't have known that based on your Man Wisdom alone. How'd you know what he'd say?" Maddie leaned against his side.

"Do you remember when you took us to court?" Deacon didn't need to ask that question. It was all he could do to forget about it sometimes.

"I remember," Maddie nodded her head and looked at him curiously.

"Do you remember what Jimmy said on the stand?" Deacon gave her a second to think it over before he supplied the answer. "He said 'I know what I'm 'bout to say is gonna cost me Maddie, but I rather know that she's safe and not have her with me than have her with me and have her get hurt.' That was the moment I knew he was gonna be my son-in-law one day."

"I can't believe of all the things that were said in the courtroom that day you remember that." Maddie took his hand.

"I remember everythin' when it pertains to you. Especially when it comes to the boys you're seein'." Deacon winked at her.

"Wow, you really, really love me don't you?" Maddie's eyes teared up. She could sense his inner pain even though he was trying to keep it from her.

"You're my daughter of course I do. You can't sit here and wait to get married just 'cause I ain't ready for you to. Even if I had twenty-five years with you instead of twelve I still wouldn't be ready. You ain't gettin' rid of me. You're stuck with me for the rest of my life and long after the last breath leaves my body." Deacon hugged her tightly.

"I don't know if I've ever told you this, but you're the best dad that a girl could ask for." Maddie hugged him back.

"I think you may have mentioned that a time or two, but it is always nice to hear." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, daddy." Maddie kissed his cheek and breathed in his scent.

"I love you too, princess." Deacon just held her for a minute.

"Did you bring me daddy grilled cheese?" Maddie's eyes lit up.

"I brought you daddy grilled cheese. I figured that this would be one of the last times that we have a minute for just the two of us. Go on and get you one 'fore they get cold." Deacon urged her.

Maddie picked up a sandwich and took a bite. "Mmm, I don't know what you put in these, but they are only this good when you make them."

"That's my secret and you ain't ever gonna get it outta me." Deacon tickled her side. "Feed your daddy a bite. Even the little monsters share with me."

Maddie fed him a bite. "There you go. You know you're gonna have to make these for your future grandchildren, right?"

"Of course, I know that. I can't think of a thing I rather do. I get dibs on guitar lessons and fishin' too. You hate fishin' 'cause I didn't get to you young enough. The way I figure it my future grandbabies gotta come fishin' with me." Deacon bargained with her.

"It's a deal." Maddie agreed.

"You two thinkin' 'bout havin' babies soon?" Deacon asked.

"We haven't discussed it, but I think it'll be soon. We've been together so long there's really no need for us to wait. I think it'll just be when it happens it happens thing." Maddie replied.

"A word of advice from your father who loves you don't mix cold medicine and your birth control pills. That's how we got Henry." Deacon's eyes sparkled with mirth.

"I will take that under consideration." Maddie laughed and shook her head at him.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I think I may be able to fit in a tour and another Claybourne baby. We will see how things go. I still have a lot of story left to tell here. The wedding is almost here and I hope ya'll are excited for that. Until next time please review.


	64. Chapter 64

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Mama's Song by Carrie Underwood and Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wicks.

* * *

Chapter 64

Rayna walked into the in-home office that she and Deacon shared to turn off the lamp she could see shining from down the hall.

"Leave that on please." Deacon sat at his desk with his guitar across his lap.

"Why are you in here and not the music room? You scared the hell outta me, babe." Rayna clutched her chest.

"The music room wasn't doin' it for me tonight. I sometimes think better in here. I'm supposed to be workin' on my toast for the rehearsal dinner, but a song came to me instead." Deacon picked out a tune on his guitar.

"I never thought that I would see the day when you had trouble findin' your words." Rayna took his guitar from him and sat down in his lap.

"I'm not havin' trouble findin' my words. I'm just havin' trouble strikin' the right balance. This weddin' is a pain in my ass, Ray." Deacon groaned loudly.

"It's weddin' week, babe. We just have to get through this week and their Opry inductions. Then you and I can take a little bit of a breather. I have one song left to record on my album and then we are almost done with our dual album. You've got the kids all set up on tour. I thought you could set up our tour." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"When is Buck comin' back to work? I really don't want his job anymore." Deacon held her close to him.

"He will be back in a couple of weeks. That means the president of your fan club comin' back to work too. Nicky doesn't wanna go back to Wyatt. He's very happy and comfortable at Highway Sixty-five. I have to find a suitable positon for him. I really wanna get out on the road and away from the office." Rayna rested her forehead against his.

"What do you say to you, me, and a night at the cabin clothes optional?" Deacon suggested.

"That sounds wonderful, but it's summer break, babe, it ain't gonna happen. We could play hooky for an afternoon, though." Rayna kissed him and smiled against his lips.

"That sounds like even more fun than what I had in mind. That could get hot and dirty and be exactly what we need." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"It's a date. All of our children are under this roof and awake right now, but I was thinkin' we could make out for the next five minutes until the four-year-old busts in." Rayna suggested.

"I'll take that deal." Deacon fused his lips to hers and slid his hand up her shirt.

"Momma! Jayme is bein' bad to me." Jack yelled as loud as he could and barged into the room.

"Jaymes Wyatt Claybourne, get in here now!" Rayna yelled.

Jayme came into the room a minute later. "What'd I do?"

"Your brother said that you're bein' bad to him. What did ya do?" Deacon deepened his voice sternly.

"Jay not let me play with his drum set. I wasn't gonna hurt it." Jack explained.

"It wasn't me who wouldn't let him play with it, it was Maddie. She said he was givin' her a headache." Jayme protested.

"Maddie is under a lot of stress right now. Let's do whatever we can to make things easier on her. I will talk to her and get her to calm down a little bit." Rayna tried to placate them.

"Girls, I just don't understand 'em." Jack shook his head.

"That ain't gonna change any as you get older. Girls are only gonna get more complicated." Deacon did his best not to laugh at his son.

"Momma, why are you on daddy's lap?" Jayme looked confused.

"There's a good explanation for that, but it escapes me at the moment." Rayna removed Deacon's hand from her shirt and got up. "Let's just go talk to your sister."

* * *

Maddie stood in her room getting ready for her rehearsal dinner. She looked over her shoulder when she heard a knock on her door. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't a grandmother come see her granddaughter without a reason?" June stood in the doorway with a binder in her hands.

"You never need a reason to see me. I'm happy you're here. I was just getting ready. What do you have there?" Maddie looked at the binder.

"This is for you. It's a cookbook with all my recipes in it. I thought it was somethin' every married woman should have. I know that you aren't much of a cook, but there's easy things in there and there's stuff that ya'll can make together. I gave Scarlett one of these when she got married." June handed her the binder.

"Thank you, mawmaw, I really appreciate this." Maddie hugged her.

"You are so welcome. I wanted to do somethin' nice for you. Some of those recipes have been passed down through my family for generations and some of them came from your great-grandmother Claybourne. I don't have much money, sweetie, but I can pass that down. I know that you won't have much free time for a while, but I thought that I could come over and teach you how to make some of these." June replied.

"I would love that. I'm never too busy for you. Sure, I'm gonna be out on the road for a little while, but you are always welcome to come join us. I want those cooking lessons as soon as possible. I want to know as much as I can about where I come from." Maddie told her.

"I will tell you whatever you wanna know 'bout where you come from. Let's start with the obvious. You share a lot in common with your daddy and your Pa. You're even a lot like your Big Pa." June told her.

"Was he an alcoholic too?" Maddie wondered.

"No, but he sure could drink. He made his own home brew. That stuff could put hair on your chest. He woulda loved and doted on you. He adored Scarlett. He woulda really loved Jimmy. I really love Jimmy. You've got yourself a man's man. I know that you don't need him to take care of you, but he will as much as you'll let him." June answered her.

"I got one of the good ones. He adores my brothers and sisters, he'd do anything for them, and he really loves me too." Maddie replied.

"I'm thankful for that. That's all I want for you. I thought I had that for myself once upon a time. We know how that turned out. I watched my daughter make the same mistakes time and time again. Frankie seems to be decent and I'm glad for that even if those two won't get married. Scarlett got herself a good man and you've got one. I'm glad that my granddaughters have so far managed to avoid my mistakes. Joel seems to be one of the good ones too. For Daphne's sake I hope so." June explained to her.

"For Joel's sake I hope so. If he doesn't turn out to be a great guy there will be nothing left of him once dad and Jimmy finish with him." Maddie smirked.

"Hey, Maddie, I hope you're about ready." Rayna stuck her head in the door. She was putting one of her earrings in.

"I'm actually ready. I'm not you, mother." Maddie retorted.

"Keep runnin' that mouth of yours. Remember that while I'm not the one payin' for this weddin' I do have access to the accounts of the man who is." Rayna teased her.

"You wouldn't dare and daddy wouldn't let you even if you wanted to." Maddie challenged her.

"Maddie, I could talk your daddy into doin' just 'bout anythin' for me. But, you're right. He might balk if I asked him to pull your funds. Or even better I do have access to your accounts I could make you pay for this." Rayna shot back.

"Don't you have some little people to get ready?" Maddie asked her.

"Daph is helpin' Charlie and I was thinkin' that maybe you would wanna go help too. Your daddy got the boys ready. I have them contained to the livin' room where they can't get dirty." Rayna answered her.

"I would love to go help Charlie get ready. I'm sure that she isn't happy about wearing a dress two days in a row." Maddie chuckled.

"She isn't bein' too bad 'bout it. You may wanna take advantage of that before she changes her mind." Rayna advised her.

"I'm going." Maddie replied.

* * *

Deacon cleared his throat and stood up from the table. They were holding the rehearsal dinner in the barn. He clicked his knife against his tea glass. "If could get everyone's attention for a minute. First I'd like to thank ya'll for comin' out tonight. I'm sure that you've been dreadin' this portion of tonight as much as I've been. We all know that once I get goin' I can be a little long winded." He took a deep breath and squeezed Rayna's hand to find the strength to say the things that he needed to say.

"When a man finds out he's gonna be a daddy he freaks out a little bit. When a man finds out that his unborn child is gonna be a girl he straight up loses his damn mind and he never gets it back." He paused to let the laughter die down.

"From the minute a man finds out he's havin' a daughter he starts dreadin' this very moment right here. That dread only intensifies the older his little girl gets. First she starts datin' she's young and her daddy knows that there's a pretty good chance that none of the young punks she's bringin' 'round are gonna be the one. Then she gets a little older and he starts eyein' every new guy she brings home warily 'cause he knows one of these guys is bound to be the one." He took a sip of his drink to collect his thoughts.

"Well, I was in that dread phase from the moment I found out a had a daughter. She was thirteen when I found out and that was just the right age for her to start takin' an interest in boys. Thankfully, she was more interested in her music and that interest in boys came later. I said earlier that it's not those first boyfriends you gotta worry 'bout it's the ones that come later. In Maddie's case that wasn't exactly true. I did a thing that made later come sooner." He walked back and forth a little.

"But, first, a little history lesson. Back when we were first startin' out in this business that we're in Rayna had a band. That band had three members known as the Unholy Trinity, Freakin' Deacon Claybourne, Howlin' Vinny Grayson, and Mad Max Waterson. Without a doubt the craziest of us all was Vinny. Now, back to the thing I did that made later come sooner. On my weddin' day I introduced my daughter to the son of my crazy best friend. The rest was history. I wasn't surprised at all when they became fast friends. And it didn't take long before those other feelings started to come to the surface. Ray was the first one to really take notice of that I think. She asked me if I'd lost my mind lettin' too hormonal teenagers in the house alone. Of course, I didn't see anythin' wrong with it at the time 'til I saw the way they looked at each other and realized that wasn't the look of friendship." He stopped to take a drink again.

"Earlier, I said that a man dreads the day his little girl no longer sees him as the most important man in her life and starts seein' another man in that role. Jimmy makes it go down a little easier. He loves my little girl above all else, he takes care of her as much as she'll let him, and he's a damn fine man. I know that he would never intentionally hurt her. Not only 'cause he knows what I would do to him, but 'cause I think it would cause him pain to hurt her. That's all any daddy can ask for. A good man that loves his little girl with all of his heart. A man that'll help her make a good home and be a good provider. A man who will be a good daddy to hi future grandchildren. Maddie got that in spades when she found Jimmy." He cleared his throat to mask his emotions.

"Jimmy, my daughter is stubborn to a fault and she knows exactly what she wants in life. You're gettin' a driven ambitious woman. She's gonna tap into your reserve of patience at times to the point you think you're gonna strangle her. Her aspirations are sometimes gonna mean that you gotta stand in the shadows while she shines. I know that you're capable of doin' just that or I wouldn't be trustin' you with her. You're one of the best men I've ever known and I'm proud that after tomorrow I'll be able to call you my son and not just my godson. I want you to know that tomorrow I'm givin' you her hand, but I ain't givin' her away. I'm openin' my arms to you and I'm welcomin' you into this family as my son. Truthfully, I did that a long time ago, tomorrow will just make that official." He walked over and squeezed JC's shoulder.

"Maddie, good men are very hard to come by. Remember that even good men have their limits when you get it in your head that you absolutely have to be right. Winnin' an argument ain't worth pushin' the person who loves you the most in the world away. I see the way you light up when you see him walk into the room. It's been that way damn near since ya'll met. I knew before you did that he was the one. It was because of the way you look at him. You look at him the way your momma looks at me. As much as it pains me to let you go I can't stand in the way of your great love. I don't want you to stand in your own way either. You have these dreams that you've been chasin' since you were a little bitty thing, but don't think that you have to give those up." He kissed the top of her head.

Deacon raised his glass. "Maddie, Jimmy, my greatest hope for you is that you dream your dreams together now. As strong as you are apart and as much as you can accomplish on your own you're stronger together. Alone each of you is a force of nature together you are unstoppable. I wish you both nothin', but the best." He finished his toast and reclaimed his seat next to Rayna.

"That was incredible, babe." Rayna kissed his cheek and then wiped a tear away.

"Thanks, babe," Deacon smiled a little.

Maddie got up and got on the stage that was set up. "Wow, I don't know quite what to say to that. He's so well spoken that sometimes it's hard for me to imagine I'm related to him. Thank you, for that, daddy. It means the world to me. I don't know that I can put my feelings into words that well, but I sure can sing them." She sat down at the piano bench and started playing.

" _Momma, you taught me to do the right things. So now you have to let your baby fly. You've given me everything that I will need to make it through this crazy thing called life. And I know you watched me grow up and only want what's best for me. And I think I found the answer to your prayers. And he is good so good he treats your little girl like a real man should. He is good so good he makes promises he keeps no he's never gonna leave. So, don't you worry about me. Don't you worry about me."_ Maddie tried to keep her emotions out of her voice.

Rayna teared up the moment that her daughter started singing. All she had done Maddie's whole life was try to protect her and now it was out of her hands.

" _Momma, there's no way you'll ever lose me. And giving me away is not goodbye. As you watch me walk down to my future I hope tears of joy are in your eyes. Cause he is good so good. And he treats your little girl like a real man should. He is good so good. He makes promises he keeps no he's never gonna leave. So, don't you worry about me. Don't you worry about me."_ Maddie had added the second verse more for Deacon's sake than Rayna's.

Deacon watched his daughter and marveled at the beautiful woman she had become almost overnight.

" _And when I watch my baby grow up I'll only want what's best for her. And I hope she'll find the answer to my prayers and that she'll say. He is good so good. And he treats your little girl like a real man should. He is good so good. He makes promises he keeps no he's never gonna leave. So, don't you worry about me. Don't you worry about me. Momma, don't you worry about me. Don't you worry about me."_ Maddie finished with tears running down her face.

She walked over to her parents and hugged them both.

"I love you so much, baby girl." Rayna wiped her daughter's tears away.

"I love you, princess. You ain't makin' this easy on your daddy." Deacon cleared his throat.

"I love you guys too. Paybacks are hell, daddy. It took everything in me not to bawl like a baby when you made that toast." Maddie chuckled.

"It couldn't be helped, princess." Deacon smiled at her.

Maddie looked over and she saw Daphne herding their younger brothers and sister up on stage. "What are they doing?"

"I think you need to go sit down with Jimmy and see." Rayna told her.

"I'm probably gonna kill her for this." Maddie groaned and went back to sit with JC.

"Maddie, Jimmy, the little ones wanted to give you guys a wedding present and they have no money, so they have spent months practicing this." Daphne laughed and stepped down from the stage.

Deac started to strum his guitar.

" _I'm gonna need an anchor. Someone to call me home. Gonna need somebody to leave the porch light on. If I ever get lost out there on my own. I'm gonna need an anchor someone to call me home."_ Deac and Charlie sang the first verse together.

"Oh, my God, Jimmy, they are adorable." Maddie commented.

"They are somethin' else." JC agreed. He took her hand in his and laced their fingers together.

" _If all our dreams are just wishes. If every wish needs a star. If all an ending really needs is a brand new beginning all love needs is a willing heart. All love needs is a willing heart."_ The four siblings sang the chorus in unison.

" _I'm gonna open up my own wings. The ones you helped me make. The ones that you promised no one could ever take away. Cause we made them outta your love. They're the kind that never break. I'm gonna open my own wings the ones you helped me make."_ Jayme and Jack sang the second verse.

" _And if all our dreams are just wishes. If every wish needs a star. If all an ending really needs is a brand new beginning all love needs is a willing heart. All love needs is a willing heart."_

" _I'm gonna need an anchor. I'm gonna need wings. I'm gonna need a willing heart to chase down all these dreams. Gonna need understanding when it's hard to understand. But, I'm gonna need your love no matter where I am."_ Charlie and Deac finished the song.

"That was amazin', Cricket." JC whispered in Maddie's ear.

"They sang that better than Daph and I do." Maddie replied.

Deac picked out a new tune on the guitar.

" _What do you need that you don't have?"_ Charlie started the song.

" _What have you lost and can't get back?"_ The three boys added their voices.

" _What if I promised it'll be alright? It'll be alright."_ Charlie sang again.

" _Cause we got a love, ooh. We got a candy apple red sweet and steady as a heartbeat love. Oh, me and you. We got a love, ooh. We got the will of a tall pine once in a lifetime love, ooh me and you."_ Deac and Charlie did the first chorus.

" _The darkest cloud will split and fade."_ Jayme started the second verse.

" _And every tear will wash away."_ The other three joined in.

" _And I'll hold you close until the sun comes out. Baby, can you see it now?"_ Jayme sang solo again.

" _We got a hope like a new spring. Patient like a porch swing love, ooh. Me and You. We got a love, ooh. We're as free as a blackbird true as the good word love, ooh. Me and You."_ Jayme and Jack took this chorus.

" _So, what do you need that you don't have? What have you lost and can't get back? What if I promised it'll be alright? It'll be alright."_ The four siblings sang together.

" _Cause we got a love, ooh. We got a candy apple red sweet and steady as a heartbeat love. Oh, me and you. We got a love, ooh. We got the will of a tall pine once in a lifetime love, ooh me and you."_ Jack and Jayme did that chorus this time around.

" _Cause we got a love, ooh."_ Deac and Charlie surprised everyone with the range of their voices for two singers so young. " _We got a hope like a new spring. Patient like a porch swing love, ooh. Me and You. We got a love, ooh. We're as free as a blackbird true as the good word love, ooh. Me and You. Ooh, me and you."_

Daphne gestured for them to get down off the stage.

"Babe, I think we are gonna have the same problem with the younger babies that we had with the older babies. I didn't realize that they had that much talent." Rayna observed.

"Oh, I know, baby." Deacon put his arm around her shoulders.

"Charlie, come here." Maddie grabbed her sister and pulled her down on her lap. "That was so good. You give me and Daph both a run for our money. You can sing my parts of those songs better than I can."

"Thanks, Maddie," Charlie smiled shyly.

"No, thank you, that was amazing." Maddie hugged her tightly.

JC picked Jack up. "That was fantastic, Jack Henry." He kissed his cheek.

"Were you surprised?" Jack's face lit up.

"We were so surprised." JC told him.

"Bubba, Rebel, come here." Maddie gestured Deac and Jayme over to her. "Thank you both. That meant a lot to me and Jimmy." She kissed them both.

"You're welcome." The twins answered in unison.

"Ya'll keep your sister company I think it's my turn." JC got out of his chair and went up on stage. "Ya'll it's my turn to put my feelings into words. Or at least try. There ain't really words for how much Maddie means to me, but I can think of a guy who needs some reassurance." He picked his guitar and started to play.

" _I came to see her daddy for a sit down man to man. It wasn't any secret I'd be askin' for her hand. I guess that's why he left me waitin' in the livin' room by myself. With at least a dozen pictures of her sittin' on a shelf. She was playin' Cinderella. She was ridin' her first bike. Bouncin' on the bed and lookin' for a pillow fight. Runnin' through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin. Dancin' with her dad, lookin' up at him. In her eyes I'm Prince Charmin', but to him I'm just some fella ridin' in and stealin' Cinderella."_ JC felt like he needed to reassure Deacon that Maddie meant everything to him.

Deacon's throat got tight and met JC's eyes.

" _I leaned towards those pictures to get a better look at one. When I heard a voice behind me say now ain't she somethin' son? I said yeah she's quite a woman and he just stared at me. Then I realized that in his eyes she would always be. Playin' Cinderella. Ridin' her first bike. Bouncin' on the bed and lookin' for a pillow fight. Runnin' through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin. Dancin' with her dad, lookin' up at him. In her eyes I'm Prince Charmin', but to him I'm just some fella ridin' in and stealin' Cinderella."_ JC nodded at Deacon.

" _Oh, he slapped me on the shoulder and then he called her in the room. When she threw her arms around him that's when I could see it too. She was playin' Cinderella. Ridin' her first. Bouncin' on the bed and lookin' for a pillow fight. Runnin' through the sprinklers with a big popsicle grin. Dancin' with her dad, lookin' up at him. If he gives me a hard time. I can't blame the fella. I'm the one who's stealin' Cinderella."_ JC finished singing.

"Come here, Jimmy," Deacon hugged him when he walked by him.

"I don't know how it feels, but I do know what you're trustin' me with. I promise you she's just as precious to me as she is to you even if it's in another way." JC hugged him back.

"I know that. If I didn't think you loved and cherished her you wouldn't have my blessin'." Deacon patted his cheek.

"Daph, I don't know about you, but I think it might be time to break this up." Casey observed a little while later.

"I agree we have some place to be." Daphne grinned. "Maddie, it's time to go. You better tell that boy bye. You'll see him tomorrow."

"Do I want to know what you two managed to come up with?" Maddie looked concerned.

"It's a surprise. Juliette helped if it makes you feel any better." Casey told her.

"No, no, that doesn't make me feel any better at all. You and Juliette are a lot alike and Daphne isn't gonna tell either of you that your idea is horrible." Maddie stressed.

"Maddie, relax, it's gonna be ok. It's not like you're gonna end up in Mexico." Juliette reassured her.

"Ya'll need to get goin' so we can get this boy outta here. He ain't gonna leave as long as she's still around." Will urged them.

"We are tryin', Will. It's gonna take a minute." Casey retorted.

"Hold up, 'fore ya'll go anywhere. If you get too damn drunk you know to call Deacon. What am I even sayin'? Call Deacon when you're ready to come home for the night. He will find a way to get all of ya home in one piece." Rayna laid down the law.

"We've got it, mom." Daphne assured her.

"And while I'm thinkin' 'bout it. Don't any of you get so drunk that you'll still be drunk durin' the ceremony. I will personally kick your asses if you do." Rayna threatened them.

"Yes ma'am, Momma Ray," Casey threw her a mock salute.

"Ya'll get on outta here. A man needs some peace every now and then." Deacon teasingly shooed them away.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. When I do my song list I typically leave the songs that were used in the show out. If you need me to start listing those too just let me know. I think the consensus is for another Claybourne baby and like I said I'm gonna try to work out that and a big Rayna and Deacon tour. I should get to the actual wedding next chapter if not it will be the chapter after that. I hope you guys don't mind me dragging it out a little bit more. I just don't want to rush it. Until next time please review.


	65. Chapter 65

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 65

"Babe, do you need any help around here before I take off for the night?" Tandy stepped up behind her sister and touched her shoulder.

"No, I don't need help with anythin'. Don't sneak up behind me like that." Rayna clutched her chest.

"Wanna share the last little bit of wine in this bottle with me?" Tandy picked up a bottle of wine off the counter.

"That's half a glass for each of us I think I can handle that. I think that we can open another bottle if we really need it." Rayna grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet.

"How are you handling this, momma?" Tandy poured them both a glass of wine.

"I'm handling it. Maddie seems really over the moon and that's all I want for her." Rayna picked up her glass and took a sip.

"It seems just like yesterday that you found out you were pregnant with her. I've helped you protect her since then. It's weird to think that she's gonna be a married woman tomorrow." Tandy replied.

"It is weird. I will be happy to have this over with. I will also be happy if they aren't all hungover. The ceremony isn't until seven, but we have pictures beforehand and there are gonna be hair and makeup people all over this house." Rayna sighed.

"You are supermom. You have done it all. You've planned this wedding and ran your label with no help. You've been better than great with me and Bucky." Tandy put her hand on top of hers.

"You've kept all the ducks on the pond for years. It's my turn to juggle everything for a change. You do know that I appreciate everything that you did for me when the girls were little, right?" Rayna smiled.

"I know that. They are my nieces I'd do anything for you. I've told you besides daddy you and your kids are the only family I have." Tandy squeezed her hand.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something. I already ran this past Maddie. You're her godmother and you're closer than an aunt to her, so tomorrow one of the groomsmen is gonna walk you down the aisle." Rayna told her.

"Rayna, you don't have to do that. We're sisters and we go above and beyond for each other." Tandy pointed out to her.

"I didn't have to I wanted to. We both know that I do what I want. Speaking of going above and beyond. How are things on the baby front?" Rayna changed the subject.

"It's not happening as easily as it does for you. It'll happen though the doctor says that I have to do something that isn't easy for me. I have to be patient. My over achiever DNA and your slacker eggs just have to sync up." Tandy made a joke out of it.

"I will have you know that there is nothing wrong with my eggs. I'm not a slacker thank you very much. As you just pointed out I've been working my ass off lately." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I'm not good at waiting around. I know that it is gonna happen. We still have plenty of eggs left. I think I just need to relax." Tandy shrugged her shoulders.

"Relax and let nature take its course. It'll happen and then when you're keepin' the kid from playing with matches or shooting her compound bow off the balcony you'll wonder why you ever wanted kids." Rayna advised her.

"Shooting her compound bow off the balcony? Did you misspeak or is that a thing Charlie does?" Tandy arched her eyebrow.

"Why does anything my youngest daughter does surprise you? Of course, that's a thing she does. She's Deacon's daughter isn't she?' Rayna laughed.

"Don't tell him I said this, but, I don't think Deacon's daughters have turned out half bad." Tandy smirked.

"I don't think they have either." Rayna agreed with her.

"So, how drunk do you think these young adults are gonna get tonight?" Tandy changed the subject.

"I don't even care to think about it. They drink like fish." Rayna shook her head.

* * *

"Come on, Maddie, you're slackin'. It's time for a shot." Casey sat a shot of tequila in front of her friend.

"You're aware what tequila does to me aren't you?" Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"I know damn well what tequila does to you. I also know it doesn't hit you as hard as whiskey does. Your mom told me that she would hold me personally responsible if you're still hungover for pictures." Casey replied.

"Enough talkin', let's raise 'em up." Juliette picked up her shot glass. Everyone else followed suit. "Maddie, here's to your last night of freedom. Enjoy it. Bein' married is an adventure, but sometimes you still some time alone."

They all threw back their shots.

Daphne signaled for another round of shots. "I say if we're gonna do this we do it right. If we're a little hungover tomorrow mom will get over it."

"The only reason you say that is because you've never really been on mom's bad side." Maddie pointed out to her.

"I know what your mother's bad side looks like better than you do." Juliette observed.

"Juliette, you do realize that our kids are gonna grow up and talk 'bout us like that one day, right?" Scarlett threw that out there.

"Been there done that. I'm pretty sure my kids hold meetings on what a bitch their momma is." Hailey offered.

"I doubt that. They at least have Max to offset you." Maddie smirked at her.

"She has you there. Max is more likable than you are." Allie laughed.

"Shut up, Allie. Keep up with me and the next time you need a lawyer I won't handle whatever new mess it is you've managed to create." Hailey threatened her.

"You are such a bitch to me when you want to be." Allie tossed back a shot.

"I thought only mom and Aunt Tandy fought like that." Daphne looked at her sister.

"I think once sisters get to a certain age it just happens naturally. I didn't damn near raise you like Aunt Tandy did mom. And I don't clean up your messes like Hailey does for Allie. You and I should be good. It's me and Charlie who are gonna have to worry because of our age difference." Maddie informed her.

"Don't you even act like you and Daph don't fight. I've heard you two get into it." Scarlett called them both out.

"Maddie, I've gotta tell you're a much braver woman than I am. I don't think I will ever be able to do the only one guy for the rest of my life thing." Casey changed the subject before a discussion could break out about how Maddie and Daphne really didn't fight that much.

"Casey, you'll never marry because you saw how your parents' marriage was. My parents' marriage is the exact opposite of that. I want what they have. Especially what she has a man who will forgive her anything even when she's being her usual self. And I really, really love Jimmy. I know that I don't want anyone else. Why not marry him?" Maddie smiled.

"I'm still seriously thinking about joining Casey on the I'm never getting married list." Daphne volunteered.

"Sweetie, I love you, but, no. You don't get a choice. Your weddin' to Joel is bein' planned as we speak." Scarlett laughed at her.

"Forget all that for a minute. There is an important question that has to be asked. Joel is a big boy. Are certain parts of him as big as others?" Juliette grinned wickedly.

"I'm not Casey it's not like I have much to compare it to. I have no complaints though." Daphne blushed.

"Daph, just tell the old perverts what they wanna know. They probably won't remember tomorrow anyway." Maddie encouraged her.

"Joel is hung like a horse. It's not true what they say about athletes having trouble with size." Daphne admitted.

"That's my girl. He was exactly what you needed." Casey teased her.

"You givin' her relationship advice scares me." Scarlett arched her eyebrow at her.

"Maddie, can we please go to strip club? I've been tryin' to convince you for weeks." Casey begged her friend. She ignored Scarlett's comment.

"I have no desire to get hot and bothered over something that I can't have." Maddie brushed off her request.

"Who says you can't have it?" Casey wiggled her eyebrows.

"No, I even have to stop you on that one. That is just gross. Havin' sex with a male stripper is like buyin' a rental car. Everyone has had a turn." Juliette's jaw hung open in disbelief.

"Whoa, hold your damn horses. Who said anythin' 'bout havin' sex with a stripper? I was talkin' 'bout lettin' her and Jimmy hook up even though they aren't supposed to. I may be easy, but I do have standards." Casey held up her hand.

"I'm thinkin' that you don't really have many standards. You slept with the Rivermen's equipment manager, for God's sake, Casey." Sadie reminded her.

"That is a widely exaggerated rumor. I was sleepin' with the relief pitcher. Like I said I have standards." Casey scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You know what? Let's go to that strip club. Let's get wild tonight. It would be so amusing if dad had to pick us up there." Maddie made an executive decision.

"I am down with that." Juliette agreed.

* * *

"Whew," JC shook his head and grimaced after he threw back a shot.

"Damn, boy, you handled that shot of moonshine like a champ." Bobby patted his little brother on the back.

JC grabbed his beer and drank half of it. "I'm pretty sure if I were to blech right now I'd be able to light it on fire."

"I can't believe I just witnessed that. I've seen you do a bunch of shit during all the years I've known you and that is up there." Mack shook his head.

"Hell, Mack, that's mild compared to the stuff we're used to. Back home we make stuff that you can drink and clean out car motors with." Jeremy chuckled.

"My dad used to drink stuff like that. It's a miracle it hasn't killed the old bastard yet." Will scoffed.

"It's a Texan thing. I can't explain it. I lived there long enough to be able to tell you some things." Max shrugged his shoulders.

"Max, you ain't from Texas?" Rhett asked.

"Do I sound like I'm from Texas? I'm from Arkansas. Where do you think the line 'In Arkansas I pulled off at a truck stop just to cry.' came from in Already Gone? I was on the bus when they wrote that song. Deacon asked for a state and I supplied it." Max answered him.

"Ya'll please don't get my daddy started. He will go on for hours 'bout the good ol' days." MJ begged them.

"You just gotta tell me one thing. Are your momma and your daddy brother and sister?" Joel asked him.

"No, but they are kissin' cousins." Max could make fun of himself because everyone was always giving him a hard time.

"Finally, someone who can get you idiots to shut your mouths." Gunnar clapped his hands.

"Gunnar, you're just happy to have another wounded animal that you might be able to out run." Avery zinged him.

"I'm a young wounded animal. He's an old wounded animal. I like my chances against him." Gunnar laughed.

"I'll show you an old wounded animal. I'm not as feeble as you think I am. I can bench press a damn keg." Max pointed his finger at him.

"Is he serious right now?" Gunnar asked.

"He's very serious. The old bastard is strong." JC answered him.

"You're gonna piss him off and he's gonna kick your ass, Runt." Bobby warned him.

"Bobby, I get my ass kicked by a little girl on a regular basis. I think havin' Max kick my ass ain't gonna hurt my pride any." JC shrugged.

"You taught her how to defend herself it shouldn't hurt your pride. You've taught all the little people in this family things they probably don't need to know. If your music career ever goes south you could teach personal defense classes." Rhett joked with him.

"On the up side, they know how to handle themselves in case anyone ever tries anythin' with 'em." JC smirked.

"Is that what you call what you and my sister used to do to me when I was a kid? You two beat the snot outta me." MJ snorted.

"I did not beat the snot outta ya. I just looked the other way while your sister did it." JC punched his shoulder affectionately.

* * *

"Mornin', Princess," Rayna stood in the doorway of Maddie's room.

"Hey, mom," Maddie sat on the edge of her bed in her robe with a towel wrapped around her head. She had just gotten out of the shower.

"You look better than I thought you would. I expected you to be a hungover zombie." Rayna walked in and sat down beside her.

"I was drunk, but I wasn't wasted last night. I didn't want to feel like death warmed over at my own wedding after all the work that has gone into it." Maddie replied.

Rayna put her arm around her shoulders. "So, today is the big day. How do you feel?"

"I feel ready. Or at least excited." Maddie took the towel off her head.

Rayna picked up a comb and started to comb out Maddie's hair. "Your hair has always been so thick that I had a hell of time keeping tangles out of it when you were little."

"I've always had trouble keeping tangles out of it too. That's why I pay someone to keep it manageable for me. We all don't have perfect hair like you." Maddie chuckled.

"You got your daddy's hair. When we were younger I used to wake up before him just so I could run my fingers through his hair. Then when you were a baby I did the same thing with you. You made the same cute face in your sleep that he did. It never failed to make me smile too." Rayna kept running the comb through her hair.

"You made a lot of sacrifices for me and I don't think that I've ever thanked you. You protected me even though it cost you over a decade with the love of your life. As a matter of fact, I've given you a lot of grief about it. I know that is wasn't an easy decision on your part. I'll say it like this you were wrong not to tell me and dad, but I can't get mad at you for trying to do what was best for me. I agree with what you tried to do, I just don't agree with your methods. That's all you've ever done for me. I know that I was a pretty shitty teenager, but I knew that I could push the limits and you'd still be there no matter what I did. There were times I pushed harder than I should have and I'm sorry for that. I'm still really sorry for that stupid emancipation crap. I never should have tried to intentionally hurt you or dad. Especially not dad. He's had more hurt in one lifetime than any person should." Maddie told her.

"I was a shitty teenager too you came by it naturally. Sweetie, I knew that you didn't mean to hurt us. You came to your senses in that courtroom pretty damn quick. I can respect your feelings about that situation. You just put it into words very well. Truthfully, I feel the same way about it. I don't like what I did either. I apologize for that, but not for tryin' to keep you safe. I'll never apologize for that. As your momma, it's my job it always will be. Just because you're gettin' married today doesn't mean I won't still be lookin' out for you." Rayna finally got her hair combed out.

"You're not just my mom you're also my boss. I really have no hope of ever getting rid of you. I don't want to be rid of you, dad, or my younger siblings. I love that we are such a close family. I don't ever wanna lose that. I want my kids to grow up with their aunt and uncles and be close to them. I want Charlie and the boys to call me when they've had too much to drink and don't you and dad to know. Between Daph and me let's face it I'll probably be the sister that encourages their bad behavior." Maddie replied.

"I want that too. Even the part about you encouraging bad teenage behavior. I'm lookin' forward to grandbabies." Rayna kissed her head. "You've been an adult for a long time now, but I think this is the first woman to woman conversation we've had."

"I guess you're right. I didn't think I'd say this, but I'm really looking forward to having kids." Maddie leaned against her.

"So, did you decide if you're gonna do a first look picture with Jimmy or are you gonna let him see you for the first time when you walk down the aisle?" Rayna changed the subject before she could start crying.

"I don't know. I did have a pretty amazing idea though. I thought that once I get my hair and makeup done and get my dress on that dad could be waiting at the bottom of the steps when I walk down." Maddie suggested.

"I think that would be perfect. Also, if you want my opinion throw tradition out the window. Let Jimmy see you before the ceremony. It actually work out better if you do. There will be more light out to take good pictures since the wedding doesn't start until seven. I'll handle that part for you." Rayna told her.

"Mom, you are really amazing. I'm so lucky to have you." Maddie hugged her tightly.

"I feel the same way, Princess." Rayna hugged her back.

"So, what is on the agenda right now?" Maddie asked.

"Your mawmaw is here makin' breakfast. We are gonna eat and then wait for the glam squads to show up. Mine and yours are both gonna be here. There's so many of us that that's the only way we're gonna be ready for pictures in time." Rayna told her.

"What are the boys up to?" Maddie questioned.

"The boys are out bein' boys. They are either shooting or it's possible that they decided to play golf. It takes take them as long to get ready as it takes us." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"I know what they're doing. They aren't out shooting. They were gonna go fishing for a little while and then they were going to play paintball." Maddie squinted her eyes up deep in thought.

"If they show up to this weddin' bruised up I'm gonna kill 'em." Rayna sighed.

"Mom, they are a pain in the ass they all do what they want. Is dad with them or is he here?" Maddie replied.

"Your father is with 'em. He couldn't stand the thought of bein' in this house with all the girly stuff that's gonna be goin' on." Rayna laughed.

"Leave it to dad to rather be out with them than be here." Maddie laughed with her.

* * *

"Look at you, gorgeous. I know that you're still gettin' ready, but I have somethin' for you." Rayna walked over to where Maddie sat at her vanity. The master bedroom was better suited for her to get ready in.

"Thanks, mom," Maddie smiled up at her.

Rayna fastened a stand of pearls around her neck. "Your pawpaw gave these to your mawmaw the first time she played the Opry. Pawpaw gave them to me the day I married your dad. I want you to wear them today."

"Mom, I don't know what to say. I promise that I will take good care of them." Maddie took her hand and squeezed it.

Rayna went to reply, but she heard a commotion downstairs. "Hold that thought. That's your daddy and brothers. I should go check on them."

"You know that I'll be here. It's not like I can get up." Maddie chuckled.

Deacon was in the foyer in front of the staircase trying his best to herd the boys where he wanted them to go.

"There you are, babe. I was wonderin' when you were gonna get back here with the boys." Rayna stood at the top of the stairs with her hair in curlers. Her makeup was done and she had her dress on.

"Relax, babe, we've all had showers and now we just need to get into our suits. Tell me where we can do that without bein' in the way." Deacon replied.

"About the only place you can go is the den. I put all of your suits in there. We have the whole top floor taken up and the caterers and stuff are gonna get stuff ready up here. Let the photographer and videographer get shots of you and the boys gettin' ready then you're gonna run 'em up to Maddie and Jimmy's so they can be with the rest of the guys. By that time Maddie should have her dress on. I gotta get back up to her. I love you I will talk to you later when I have more time." Rayna gave him the rundown.

"I got it. I love you too we will talk in a little while." Deacon winked at her.

Rayna turned and went back toward their bedroom.

"You heard your momma, boys. Let's get to the den and get ready." Deacon herded them into the den.

He got the boys dressed first and then he put his suit on. "If we had more time I'd show you how to tie a tie today and let you do it yourselves, but we are under time constraints. I'll show you how it's done this time and next time I'll let you try it for yourself."

He popped his collar and picked up his tie. He went slowly step by step so they could see how it was done. "Now we will do this oldest to youngest."

Deacon kneeled down so he would be at the boys' level. He fastened Deac's tie around his neck before he moved on to Jayme and Jack. "Ya'll can put your vests and jackets on when you get up to Jimmy and Maddie's house. We gotta go like now."

"Ok, daddy," All three little boys chorused.

Deacon made quick work of taking them to Maddie's house and then he came back.

Rayna came down the steps as he walked through the door. She wore a silver strapless dress and her hair was a mass of curls.

"Wow, babe, you're gorgeous. That dress definitely doesn't say mother of the bride." Deacon grinned goofily.

"You're damn handsome. Red is so your color." Rayna put her hand on his chest.

"I will keep that in mind for later. Unless you get black out drunk there will be a later." Deacon smirked at her.

"You can bet your sweet ass on that." Rayna turned him around and had him face the front door. She smacked his ass for good measure.

"Oh, I see how you're gonna play this." Deacon laughed deep in his chest.

"Just stay there and don't turn around until I tell you to." Rayna ordered him. "Maddie, your daddy's ready for you." She stepped aside so she wouldn't be in the way of the photographer and videographer.

Maddie stood at the top of her stairs in her wedding dress. Her hair was half in a ponytail the rest of it laid down her back in soft curls. Her lips were painted bright red. She took a shaky breath and nodded to her mom that she was ready.

"Deacon, turn around." Rayna had to swallow back her tears to speak.

Deacon turned around slowly. His breath hitched in his throat and his eyes instantly glazed over with tears. He brought his hands up and put them over his mouth. "My beautiful, baby girl."

Maddie held on to the railing with one hand and used the other hand to hold her dress up. She slowly descended the stairs. She stopped when she was standing right in front of her dad.

Deacon just stared at her. A tear slipped down his cheek. He took her appearance in and fell even more in love with his daughter than he already was.

"Daddy, say something. Do I not look ok? Do you think my dress is pretty?" Maddie's bottom lip quivered. She brought her hand up and wiped his tear away.

Deacon reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. "Baby girl, you've never looked more beautiful. You just took my breath away for a second. Jimmy ain't gonna know what hit him."

"Thanks, daddy," Maddie kissed his cheek softly so she didn't rub off her lipstick.

"For once in my life I don't have words." Deacon kissed her forehead.

"I love you, daddy." Maddie did her best not to cry.

"I love you too, Princess." Deacon's voice was barely above a whisper.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I should get to the wedding ceremony next chapter. Until next time please review.


	66. Chapter 66

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The song used in this chapter is Die a Happy Man by Thomas Rhett.

* * *

Chapter 66

JC stood out on the end of the dock over the lake on Rayna and Deacon's property dressed in his tux. His hair was parted off to the side and he had just the right amount of stubble on his face. He was facing the water, his hands in his pockets a reflective look on his face. He heard the click clack of heels hitting the wooden planks of the dock. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he put his on top of it. A small smile came to his face.

"Is that my soon to be wife?" He asked.

"Give me a second. Don't turn around until I tell you to." Maddie took a deep breath. "Turn around, Jimmy."

JC grinned to himself. He turned pivoted on his heel. The witty comment he was going to make died on his lips when he saw her and he gasped. "Maddie, wow," His breath hitched in his throat. His vision clouded because his eyes swam with tears. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Back at ya, babe." Maddie waved her hand in front of her face to stave off her emotions.

"You are so damn beautiful, baby. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I ain't gonna question it." JC finally found his words. He used his thumb to wipe away the tear that had fallen from his eye.

"Baby, if you cry you're gonna make me cry and I just spent a really long time getting my makeup done." Maddie made a joke out of it, but there was nothing sexier than him crying like that.

"You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen. It just hit me that you're all mine." JC put his hand on her cheek.

"You're the handsomest man I've ever laid eyes on and you're all mine. We must have done something right." Maddie returned the gesture.

They just stood there staring deeply into each other's eyes for a moment. Once the photographer had gotten all the pictures he needed they walked up to the back patio.

"I know that we are under a tight schedule right now, but I need just a minute of ya'll's time." Deacon stepped out back.

"Daddy, what did you do?" Maddie asked him.

"I didn't really do anythin'. I did, but I didn't do it alone." Deacon replied.

"That was mighty cryptic." JC chuckled.

Paul pulled around the side of the house in a black 1965 stepside Chevy truck.

"Paul and I thought that ya'll needed somethin' to make your weddin' pictures really stand out." Deacon grinned.

Paul got out of the truck and walked over to them. "Happy weddin' day, ya'll."

"Pa, what is this?" Maddie gasped.

"This is my weddin' present. I did all the work myself. Your daddy helped a little bit." Paul replied.

"Paul, that's not a truck that's a work of art." JC admired the truck.

"Thank you so much, Pa." Maddie hugged her grandfather.

"I know it ain't much, but it was all I could do." Paul hugged her back.

JC offered him his hand. "It's more than enough."

"Pa, this is perfect. I'm not worried about the value of it. I love that fact that you did this with your own two hands." Maddie reassured him.

Paul shook his hand. "You just be sure to take care of my granddaughter."

"I helped more than a little bit, old man." Deacon teased him.

"You just did the heavy liftin' that I can't do anymore." Paul corrected him.

"Thank you, both." Maddie smiled.

"You're very welcome, baby girl. Your Pa and I finally almost killed each other workin' on this truck. Your momma caught us wrestlin' 'round like a couple puppy dogs and made us behave." Deacon added.

"I'm still mad 'bout that. I had you right where I wanted you." Paul grumbled.

"I wish I coulda seen that. I've been wonderin' for years who could win in a fight." JC just egged on their nonsense.

"Don't encourage them, babe." Maddie cautioned him.

"I ain't gotta lead 'em into temptation they both know the way just fine on their own." JC pointed out to her.

"We need to be gettin' down to the barn. Maddie, they are waitin' for you inside. Paul, you can drive the truck on down there. Change into your damn suit when you get down there. Ray will have a fit if she sees that you ain't dressed yet. Jimmy, the other guys are already down there. We can head down together." Deacon put his hand on JC's shoulder.

"It'll take me two minute to get dressed. I had to do some last minute tune ups to the truck. I didn't want to do that in my suit. I'll see ya'll down there." Paul headed back to the truck.

* * *

After they had taken pictures Maddie sat in a room in the barn. She had just had her makeup redone. She turned to look over her shoulder when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," She called out.

Teddy walked into the room and just stared at her for a moment. "Wow, Maddie, I remember thinking that you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen the day you were born, but you are one beautiful bride."

"Thanks, Teddy," Maddie offered him a small smile.

"I knew that this day would come, but it kinda snuck up on me. I wasn't prepared for this at all." Teddy smiled back at her.

"It wouldn't have snuck up on you had you been around more. You distanced yourself from us not the other way around." Maddie didn't feel the need to hold back.

"I was trying to protect Daphne and you. Your career had really taken off and Daphne was in high school. Neither of you needed the stigma of being associated with a criminal father." Teddy explained.

"You're not my father." Maddie stated flatly.

"Where did I go wrong? What did I do to make you hate me so much? You don't even call me dad anymore." Teddy asked her.

"I don't hate you. I'm pissed off that you basically walked away, but I don't hate you. You have to understand that I can't just shut my father out and treat him like he doesn't matter. He didn't choose not to be a part of my life. You and mom made that choice for him. You can't think he's entirely bad or you would have never asked him to adopt Daphne. He's been a good dad to both of us. I love you and I always will. I just don't know what that means for us yet. I can't hurt my dad again. I know that much." Maddie leveled with him.

"I don't think I realized until this moment that you're an adult. I was probably wrong to tell your mother to keep you and Deacon apart. You have to know that I do love you like you're mine to me you always will be my daughter. I held on to you too tightly after you found out that Deacon was your father. I was scared that you'd love him more and want to be with him and you'd turn your back on me. My greatest fears came true, but it wasn't because of anything he did. I brought this on myself. I did things that I'm not proud of and it's only because of Lamar's influence that I got a second chance. I also know that you're a lot more like Deacon than I ever wanted to admit and it'll take time to regain your trust if you even want that. I want you to know that I've only ever done what I thought was best." Teddy opened up.

"I do know all of that. I guess from this point forward all we can do is try." Maddie replied.

"I'm willing to try." Teddy gave her a warm smile.

"Me too," Maddie agreed.

"Well, I should let you finish getting ready." Teddy kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.

Deacon passed him on his way in and nodded in his direction. "Hey, baby girl, it's almost time."

"Already?" Maddie asked. As anxious as she'd been to have this day over with time seemed to fly now.

"Yeah, already." Deacon just looked at her for a minute.

"Daddy, you're looking at me funny. Do I have something on my face?" Maddie asked.

"No, I was just takin' one last long look at my baby girl before she's a married woman." Deacon swiped at his eyes.

"I'm always gonna be your baby girl." Maddie reassured him.

"I know that. I'm just so happy that we are doin' this together. As much as this hurts it woulda hurt a lot worse to sit on the sidelines." Deacon replied.

"I know it would have hurt you. That's why you're the one walking me down the aisle." Maddie teased him.

"I have a little somethin' for ya. I know you have your somethin' old, somethin' borrowed, and somethin' blue. The only thing missin' is somethin' new." Deacon fished something out of his pocket. "Give me your wrist."

"What did you do?" Maddie held out her left wrist to him.

Deacon fastened a diamond bracelet around her wrist. "This is from me. I thought you needed a little somethin' that sparkled just as much as your dress does."

"Daddy, this is gorgeous and you didn't have to do this. You already paid for the wedding and I know it had to cost a lot." Maddie told him.

"I needed one last chance to show you that he may love you, but he will never spoil you the way I do." Deacon grinned at her. "On that note, I have one more thing for you." He pulled a pair of dangling diamond earrings out of his pocket. He put them in for her.

"You don't have to worry he's no competition to you in that area. This is just too much." Maddie took his hand.

"Let's just sit here a minute 'fore they come and get us." Deacon took her other hand.

* * *

"Look at my three handsome boys." Rayna gushed over her sons. She used her fingers to comb a few stray hairs on Jack's head into place.

JC bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "Whew!" He slapped his face a couple of times. "Now, I'm ready."

"I'm so glad that you're ready. When you do stuff like that it makes you look crazy." Tandy gave him a look.

"I gotta get in the zone. I got some crazy shit runnin' through my head right now. She's alone with Deacon and if she says she doesn't think she can do this he will help her pull a runaway bride on me." JC said nervously.

"Honey, if she were gonna run she would have done that already. Here, take this." Rayna reached into her clutch and pulled out a flask.

"This is what I need." JC unscrewed the cap and took a long swallow. He tried to hand it back to Rayna.

"No, you keep that. It was your daddy's. I had a matchin' set made when we finished our first studio record. One was his and the other was Deacon's. I want you to have that one." Rayna smiled at him.

"I'll keep this safe." JC tucked it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

"Ray, it's time. You may wanna wind it up." Bucky tapped his watch.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road. Deac, you're my escort we go first. You just circle back around and walk down with the rest of the guys. Buck, go to your seat, but have the band start playin' first." Rayna took charge.

"I've got it, Ray." Bucky walked to his seat and signaled to the band to start playing.

The violins started to play.

"You ready, momma?" Deac offered Rayna his arm. He was the groomsmen that was chosen to walk Rayna down the aisle since he was the oldest son.

"I'm ready, Bubba. Remember walk slow and steady we aren't in a race." Rayna looped her arm through his.

"I got it, momma." Deac started to walk.

They were followed Jack who walked Tandy down. Jayme walked June down the aisle. MJ walked Dixie down. They circled back around and walked down the aisle with the rest of the groomsmen. The bridesmaids followed next. Once everyone was in place Gunnar picked up a guitar and nodded to Scarlett. He counted down on his fingers before he started to play. The violin players changed their tune and played along with him.

Maddie and Deacon stood at the back of the barn their arms linked together.

"You ready for this?" Deacon whispered to her.

"I'm more than ready, daddy." Maddie whispered back.

" _There's no music no confetti crowds don't cheer and bells don't wring. But you'll know it I can guarantee when the right one comes along."_ Scarlett and Gunnar started singing.

Deacon and Maddie started to walk down the aisle.

" _What they're thinkin' what you're feelin' you no longer have to guess. And all those questions are finally put to rest when the right one comes along. And every single broken heart will lead you to the truth. You think you know what you're lookin' for 'til what you're lookin' for finds you."_

Deacon held tight to his daughter his heart breaking a little more with every step they took. His mind flashed back to the thirteen-year-old who had shown up on his doorstep questioning her paternity. They had come so far since that day and now he was giving her away.

" _In a cold world it's a warm place where you know that you're supposed to be. A million moments full of sweet relief when the right one comes along. And every single broken heart will lead you to the truth. You think you know what you're lookin' for 'til what you're lookin' for finds you."_

Maddie's thoughts ran down a similar path. With all the upheaval that finding out Deacon was her father had caused she wouldn't trade getting to be his daughter for anything in the world. He'd been such a good dad to her.

" _It's so easy there's nothin' to it. Although you may not believe me now. Oh, but I promise, honey you'll find out when the right one comes along. And all that changes is only everything when the right one comes along."_

JC stepped forward as they reached the end of the aisle.

Deacon kissed Maddie's cheek and put her hand in JC's. "You take care of my little girl."

Maddie handed her bouquet to Daphne.

"As much as she'll let me." JC replied.

Deacon took a step back and he died a little inside.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of James Clay Grayson and Madison Miranda Claybourne. If any among us know of any reason these two should not be joined speak now or forever hold your peace." The minister began. He paused to allow for objections, but there weren't any. "Who gives this woman to this man?"

Deacon took a deep breath to make sure he had his voice under control before he answered. "Her momma and I do." He took his seat next to Rayna.

Rayna reached over and gripped his hand tightly.

"Do you James take Madison to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and honor? To have and to hold in sickness and in health? For better or for worse? For richer or for poorer? Forsakin' all others as long as you both shall live?" The minister directed that at JC.

"I do," JC answered without hesitation.

"Do you Madison take James to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and honor? To have and to hold in sickness and in health? For better or for worse? For richer of for poorer? Forsakin' all others as long as you bother shall live?" The minister asked Maddie the same question.

"I do," Maddie smiled at JC.

"James, recite your vows," The minister instructed JC.

"Maddie, my life began the day I met you. I didn't know what I came back to Nashville for until then. Cricket, you're my soulmate. I feel like I've known you in this life and every other one that we've ever lived. If I hadn't met you I'd have spent my whole life lookin' for you. I feel like my words ain't comin' out the way that I want 'em to. I think the best way for me to do this is how we learned it all those years ago. Three chords and the truth. The thing that all great country songs have in common. I'm gonna need a little help for this." JC rambled a little bit.

"I got ya, brother." Will picked up the guitar that Gunnar had discarded and started to play.

" _Baby, last night was hands down one of the best nights that I've had no doubt. Between the bottle of wine and the look in your eyes and the Marvin Gaye. Then we danced in the dark under September stars in the pourin' rain. And I know that I can't ever tell you enough. That all I need in this life is your crazy love."_ JC stared into Maddie's eyes as he poured his heart out to her. He couldn't come up with anything decent while he was writing his vows, but he'd come up with one hell of a song.

Maddie's eyes teared up instantly.

" _If I never get to see the Northern Lights. Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand. Baby, I could die a happy man. A happy man, baby, hmm."_ JC's voice wavered a little bit.

" _Baby, that red dress brings me to my knees. Oh, but that black dress makes it hard to breathe. You're a saint, you're a goodness, the cutest the hottest, a masterpiece. You're too good to be true nothin' better than you in my wildest dreams. And I know that I can't ever tell you enough. That all I need in this life is your crazy love."_ He gripped her hands tighter and let a tear roll down his cheek.

Maddie blushed and laughed through her tears at the way he had characterized her. He saw something in her that she just didn't see in herself.

" _If I never get to see the Northern Lights. Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand. Baby, I could die a happy man, yeah."_

" _I don't need no vacation no fancy destination. Baby, you're my great escape. We could stay at home listen to the radio and dance around the fireplace. If I never get to build my mansion in Georgia or drive a sports car up the coast of California. Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand, Baby, I could die a happy man. Baby, I could die a happy man. Oh, I could die a happy man. You know I could, girl. I could die, I could die a happy man."_ JC had a smile on his face when he finished. "I think that pretty well said what I was tryin' to say. I'll add this. Cricket, I love you and that will always be true."

"Madison, recite your vows." The minster gave Maddie the same instructions he'd given JC.

Maddie worked her bottom lip between her teeth before she spoke. "Jimmy, you're a tough act to follow in more ways than one. No other man I've ever been with has ever been able to hold up against you. I've always said that you're too perfect and you just proved it again. Your reply to that is always that I set the bar too high and that you're bound to let me down sooner or later. When I say that you're perfect I don't mean that literally. I don't mean that you're without flaws. I mean that you're a good man who's flawed, but you still try to be your best every day. I'm gonna pay you the highest compliment that I know how to give you. You're the kinda man my daddy is. You're about the only other person that knows how to handle me. And that's mostly because you just give me my way about everything. When I look at you I can see forever in your eyes. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. You were the first boy to make me have any type of real feelings and you're the last man that I want to feel anything for. I love you I always have and I always will."

"Now, may I have the rings?" The minister asked.

JC looked at Will expectantly.

Will patted down his pockets. "I knew I forgot somethin'." He let JC and Maddie suffer for a moment before he laughed. "I have 'em." He handed them to the minister.

JC took Maddie's ring out of his hand.

"James, repeat after me. Let this ring serve as a symbol of my undying love and my promise to be a faithful and loving partner." The minister instructed.

"Maddie, let this ring serve as a symbol of my undyin' love and my promise to be a faithful and lovin' partner." JC parroted as slipped the ring on Maddie's finger.

"Madison, repeat after me. Let this ring serve as a symbol of my undying love and my promise to be a faithful and loving partner." The minister said again.

"Jimmy, let this ring serve as a symbol of my undying love and my promise to be a faithful and loving partner." Maddie slid a heavy silver band on JC's finger.

After they had exchanged rings Maddie and JC walked to a table that was behind the altar. They both lit a white taper candle.

"These flames represent your lives as single people. By lighting the unity candle you are making your lives one." The minster intoned.

JC and Maddie both used their candles to light the pillar candle in the center of the table. Once that was done they each picked up a rose and walked over to Rayna and Deacon first. JC handed Rayna a flower and kissed her cheek.

"I promise that I'm gonna take care of her." He whispered.

"I know you will." Rayna smiled at him.

Next, they walked over to where JC's parents sat. Maddie handed her rose to Dixie.

"I promise to always love him even when I don't want to." She said.

"I know my boy and you should be made a saint for that alone." Dixie replied.

Maddie and JC returned to the altar their hands clasped together.

Off to the side Jack stood between his two older brothers shifting his weight from foot to foot. He may have been well behaved, but he was still four and he was getting tired of standing in one spot for so long.

"Now, I think these two have both been waitin' an awful long time for this part. By the power vested in me, by God and by the state of Tennessee I now pronounce you husband and wife. Son, you may kiss your bride." The minister said.

"I've been wanted to mess these lips up since I saw you." JC laughed and pulled Maddie into a deep kiss.

Maddie pulled away first laughing. She retrieved her bouquet from Daphne. "Our parents are here you better save that for later."

"Ladies and gentlemen, it my pleasure to introduce to you for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. James Clay Grayson. What God hath joined together let no man tear asunder." The minister finished the ceremony.

Will let out a loud rebel yell. Everyone else clapped.

Music began to play again as the wedding party made their way back down the aisle.

"Well, Mrs. Grayson, we did it." JC grinned from ear to ear.

"We sure did, Mr. Grayson. Just remember I'm only Mrs. Grayson in private I'm keeping my name." Maddie smiled just as brightly. The bright red lipstick she wore made her teeth look even whiter.

"I rather you be Mrs. Grayson just for me. I don't want to share that part of you with anyone else." JC wrapped his arm around her tighter.

"Alright, ya'll don't think 'bout runnin' off or gettin' into the booze just yet. We still have more photos to do." Rayna said when she made her way back to where they were.

"You mean I can't take these ridiculous shoes off yet?" Charlie whined. They had her in a pair of heels and she was not enjoying the experience at all.

"No, you can't take 'em off yet. I promise soon." Rayna bit her lip to hide a smile. She knew that her daughter would without a doubt be doing something to reclaim her title as family tomboy come tomorrow. She'd had to be dressed up for two days without getting dirty that was both torture and record for her.

"You're doing really well in those shoes, Charlie." Daphne complimented her.

"You did a really good job teachin' her to walk in them." Rayna sounded impressed.

"It wasn't me that finally got her to walk in those it was Casey. Apparently, we don't understand her the way Casey does and that should scare the hell out of us." Daphne made a face.

"Hey, I'm behavin' myself for a change." Casey protested.

"For once in your life you are. I give you all credit for behavin' like rational adults today. I'm just askin' for a few more minutes of that and then you can let loose." Rayna laid down the law.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope that the ceremony was worth the wait and I did it justice. It was really fun for me to write. I've known what song JC was going to use for his vows for six months and I was happy to finally be able to pull the trigger. We've got more wedding fun coming up next chapter and I also already have the songs picked out for their Opry inductions. Until next time please review.


	67. Chapter 67

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Free by Zac Brown Band and My Wish by Rascal Flatts.

* * *

Chapter 67

"Well, that girl of yours did it. How are you feelin', baby brother?" Beverly walked over to where Deacon stood.

"Honestly, I feel like I just lost my last friend. Do me a favor and don't give me a hard time." Deacon wore a broody look on his face. They were still doing pictures and waiting for the reception to start.

"She lives to give you and Rhett a hard time. You should know that by now." Frankie clapped him on the back.

Rayna walked over and slid her arm around Deacon's waist. "Ya'll ain't in off tour enough for her to give them a hard time. To do that you'd actually have to be here."

"That's why phones were invented. When I want to give one of 'em a hard time I call 'em." Beverly retorted.

"That's why I don't always answer the phone when I know it's you callin'." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"Look at that girl. I swear I don't know what I'm gonna do with her." Rayna's jaw hung open as she watched Casey take a tube of lip gloss from her cleavage, apply it, and then put it back.

"It's too late to do anythin' 'bout that girl. The ship for that sailed a long time ago. We encouraged that friendship, 'cause Casey mighta drug Maddie into temptation, but they were both good for each other and she kept Maddie from takin' us to court. I don't even remember now who's stray she is." Deacon laughed.

"She's Maddie's I just hired her." Rayna retorted. "Casey, act like you have some class, girl."

"I don't have any. You know that and you love me anyway." Casey smirked.

"I'm well aware of that. At least pretend to have a little for tonight. There are a ton of single men here and I'm tryin' to get rid of you." Rayna called back to her.

"Rayna, give it up. I tried setting her up with one of my teammates and it didn't go over well at all. She was too wild for him." Mack supplied.

"You mean to tell me that the dirty sexy stripper girl who comes with the none of the risks of bein' with an actual stripper is too wild for an athlete?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"She's one of my best friends and she's too wild for me. There's a reason that I don't ask her to babysit often. I don't ask her to babysit because I don't know what she's gonna teach them. I prefer to have Maddie watch them. I know that Lacey will pick up an expensive shoe habit and she gives Billy pedicures and teaches him to do it." Mack answered.

"Mack, you can bite me." Casey flipped him off.

"Rayna, these people are teenagers and you're just as bad as they are." Tandy scolded them.

"I only said stripper. I've said worse than that before. You'd be appalled if you heard half of what I said in front of your niece and nephews." Rayna winked at her.

"I need a drink to deal with you I need to drink." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"I got ya, Tandy." Will slid up next to her and took a flask out of his pocket.

"Thank you, Will. I've always said that you're the good one." Tandy took a pull off the flask.

"That's because I am the good one. Me and maybe Avery. Everyone else is a disaster." Will replied.

"You do cause the least trouble I will give you that." Tandy took another drink.

"Is it 'bout time for this thing to start or what? I'm sweatin' so heavily that I'm gonna wilt this suit." Rhett took a white handkerchief out of his inner pocket and wiped his forehead.

"It should be startin' any minute. You better go get with the rest of the weddin' party." Deacon told him.

"Rhett, before you do that look at me." Harley snapped his picture.

"Harley, what are you doin'?" Rayna asked him.

"MJ promised me a hundred bucks a pop for good pictures. Maddie and Jimmy both already cleared it." Harley explained.

"Carry on then." Rayna waved him away.

"I wonder where MJ is gettin' the funds to pay him that much money." Deacon pursed his lips.

"He can argue that with Tandy or he can pay outta pocket. We both know that neither of those two really need to worry 'bout money." Rayna laughed.

"That's why they get along so well. Neither of 'em is really suited for the life they were born into." Deacon observed.

"I'm aware. Let's get this thing started." Rayna replied.

* * *

Will stood up at clicked his knife against his champagne glass. "Can I get your attention for a moment please?" He waited the chatter to die down. "For those of you who don't know me I'm Will Lexington and I'm Jimmy's best man. I'm his best friend I have been since the day we met. Now it's not like either of us has any choice. My husband and his wife are basically attached at the hip." He drew the expected laughter with that comment. "Jimmy and I have been in each other's lives for so long now that we are closer than friends, we are brothers. I knew even before he did how he felt about Maddie. I even had to stop him from knockin' her boyfriend's head off 'cause he said some things he shouldn't have. Anyway, it was apparent from the start how insanely attracted those two were to each other. I was so damn relieved when they finally started datin' it wasn't funny. Up 'til that point I'd never seen two teenagers so crazy 'bout each other. I remember these two bein' so young that I'd have to sneak 'em booze when we went out to dinner together. They used to go out to with me and Mack to cover the fact that we were datin'. When Jimmy and I went out on tour together he was so sick moon doggin' over her that I didn't think he was gonna survive. When we got older I spent a lotta time over at their apartment drinkin'. A different themed drink for every day of the week. The point is it was me and him for a long time and now it's him and her. Maddie, Jimmy, I wish ya'll nothin', but the best together. Texas forever, brother."

"Texas forever," JC parroted.

Maddie laughed and rolled her eyes.

Daphne stood up now. "I'm Maddie's sister, Daphne. I don't have to say that I know that everyone knows that already. We've been together our whole lives. I have dirt on her that you wouldn't believe. The one constant that we had was each other growing up with mom on the road so much. We always stuck together no matter what. Then Maddie became a teenager and I became her annoying baby sister. For the first time in our lives she started ditching me and didn't want me around as much. That was until Jimmy came into the picture. I don't think another boyfriend in the history of the world has treated his girlfriend's baby sister as well as he treated me. All I've ever had to do is look upset and he would ask me who's ass he needed to kick. He kicked a few asses because Maddie asked him to on my behalf. He would take the hit for me when we were all babysitting and burp Jayme. Anyone who knows that kid knows what a big deal that was. There were times that I liked him better than I liked my sister. He's always been like a big brother to me and now he officially is. My whole life my sister has always been in the room down the hall from me. Even when she moved out mom made sure she knew that wasn't just her apartment it was our apartment. That changed a little bit once we started touring, but I always knew that we were gonna end up in the same place. She's been my roommate for almost twenty-two years and now we won't be right down the hall from each other anymore. I feel confident that my big sister and my roommate is in good hands with Jimmy. I trust him to love and take care of her and to always have her back." She raised her glass. "To Maddie and Jimmy, may you two always be partners."

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome for their first dance as man and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Grayson." Will spoke into the mic. He was on stage with Avery and Gunnar. They had written the song they were gonna use for their first dance.

JC took Maddie's hand and led her out to the dance floor. He gathered her in his arms as they began to play.

" _So, we live out in our old van travel all across this land me and you. We'll end up hand in hand somewhere down on the sand me and you."_ Will started singing.

Maddie looked up at JC with a huge smile on her face and nothing, but love in her eyes.

" _Just as free, free as we'll ever be. Just as free, free as we'll ever be."_ The guys sang together.

JC stared down at Maddie like there was no one else in the room. His arms encircled her waist.

" _Drive until the city lights dissolve into a country sky me and you. Lay underneath the harvest moon do all the things that lovers do just me and you."_ Will took over again.

"It should be against the law to be this happy." Maddie giggled.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Cricket." JC winked at her.

" _Just as free, free as we'll ever be. Just as free, free as we'll ever be."_

Maddie wrapped her arms tighter around JC's neck as they swayed around the dance floor.

" _No, we don't have a lot of money. No, we don't have a lot of money. No, we don't have a lot of money. No, we don't have a lot of money. No, we don't have a lot of money. No, we don't have a lot of money."_ They harmonized.

" _All we need is love."_ Will wailed.

"They did a damn good job." JC commented.

"They really did." Maddie agreed.

" _We're just as free, free as we'll ever be. We're just as free, free as we'll ever be."_

JC spun Maddie around and back into his arms.

" _So, we live out in our old van. Travel all across this land just me and you."_ Will finished softly.

"I gotta let you go now, but I don't wanna." JC rested his forehead against hers.

"I have to dance with my dad, babe." Maddie chuckled.

"I know you do, but you're gonna come right back to me as soon as you're done with him." JC kissed her deeply.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

" _I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow and each road leads you where you wanna go. And if you're faced with a choice and you have to choose I hope you choose the one that means the most to you. And if one door opens to another door closed I hope you keep on walkin' 'til you fine the window. If It's cold outside show the world the warmth of your smile. But more than anythin' more than anythin'."_

Deacon's face was red as he danced with Maddie. He was trying his very best to hold back the tears that wanted to fall.

" _My wish for you is that this life becomes all you want it to. Your dreams stay big your worries stay small. You never need to carry more than you can hold. And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to I hope you know somebody loves you and wants the same things too. Yeah, this is my wish."_

"Daddy, don't be so sad. I'm happy. It's ok for you to cry if you need to." Maddie rested her head on Deacon's shoulder.

"I know that, but you're my little girl and I can't help it." Deacon mustered a smile.

" _I hope you never look back, but you never forget all the ones who love you in the place you life. I hope you always forgive and you never regret and you help somebody every chance you get. Oh, you find God's grace in every mistake and always give more than you take. But more than anythin' more than anythin'."_

"You are a big ol' softy that's you're problem." Maddie told him.

"You kids have made me that way. I always fought for your momma, but I'd die for any of ya." Deacon replied.

" _My wish for you is that this life becomes all you want it to. Your dreams stay big your worries stay small. You never need to carry more than you can hold. And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to I hope you know somebody loves you and wants the same things too. Yeah, this is my wish yeah, yeah."_

"I know that, daddy, I've always known that." Maddie's eyes teared up now.

"That is still true even though you're a married woman now." Deacon looked her in the eyes to make sure she understood that.

" _My wish for you is that this life becomes all you want it to. Your dreams stay big your worries stay small. You never need to carry more than you can hold. And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to I hope you know somebody loves you and wants the same things too. Yeah, this is my wish. This is my wish. I hope you know somebody loves you. May all your dreams stay big."_

Deacon finally let a tear roll down his cheek. "I love you so much, baby girl."

"I love you too, daddy." Maddie hugged him tight.

Deacon kissed her forehead.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

After all the formal wedding things had been taken care of Rhett stood huddled up in a corner with earbuds in his ears staring at his phone screen.

"Come on, you motherfucker. I taught you how to play on the warning track of that field myself. What are you doin' with my boys tonight, Skip? They look like a damn mess. Christ, Marini, pull the pitcher and get and get Hunt on the mound. He's the only one I know who can take command out there and salvage the mess you've made over the last half innin' and it's only the first. I get that we ain't had our turn to bat yet, but fuck. I told Lamar last year to fire your ass. You can't fire a manager after he wins you a world title though." He grumbled to himself.

"Babe, why are you over here mumbling to yourself?" Sadie walked over to him.

"Oh, good, I need your phone. I'm makin' a call to the dugout." Rhett retorted.

Sadie fished her cell out of her purse. "Here, I'm not gonna try to save ya when Rayna or Maddie catches you."

Rhett dialed the number for the dugout from memory. "Marini, it's Claybourne, I'm riskin' life and limb to make this call, so you need to listen to me. You gotta pull your pitcher. Put Hunt on the mound. He can get the guys settled in. We are a young team. He's a veteran they will follow him like they follow me. If you wanna win this game that is the only move you can make." He listened to what his coach had to say and he nodded his head. "Trust me on this one. It's the right call. I gotta go. Bye." He hung up the phone.

"I will take that. Don't make me have to take yours too." Sadie took her phone back.

"I just gotta see how they do in the next half innin' and I'm done." Rhett swore to her.

"Rhett, tell me that you know the score." Lamar walked up behind him.

"A lot to a little the bad guys." Rhett snorted.

"That's not what you were supposed to tell me." Lamar groaned.

"I called Marini and told him to put Hunt in. We have a young team and they need his leadership. You need to fire him, Lamar. I know it don't seem like a smart move, but it has to be done. He's slippin'." Rhett ran his hand through his hair.

"Not the time or the place, but I see what you mean." Lamar granted his point.

"Daddy, I warn you right now if you're playin' master of the universe at my daughter's wedding I will make the night I barged into your house pissed off look tame." Rayna warned him.

"I'm behaving myself. I can't promise that I won't corner Big Jack and talk him outta several hundred heads of cattle and an oil well or two, but other than that I will behave." Lamar put his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Alright, I'll take that for what it is." Rayna shook her head.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Lieutenant Hoyt, we are both so happy that you could make it." Maddie smiled and shook hands with her dad's friend.

"Maddie, you don't have to call me Lieutenant Hoyt. I've seen you at your absolute worst and I'm your daddy's friend and I get you out of speedin' tickets. Not to mention you've babysat my daughter." Lincoln Hoyt kissed her cheek.

"She does have a lead foot." JC laughed.

"You got yourself one hell of a woman, Jimmy." Lincoln clapped him on the back.

"Kenzie is a breeze to watch compared to my brothers and sister. I don't drive that fast." Maddie smiled brighter.

"Quick question. Which brother is that makin' eyes at my little girl? I've known 'em their whole lives and I can't tell 'em apart." Lincoln watched as one of the twins talked to his daughter.

"That's Deac he's only like her best friend ever. Second only to Charlie maybe. If I had my say in the matter that's my brother's future wife." Maddie teased him.

"Watch it with that stuff. I'm surprised your daddy has been able to hold himself together. If I have my way that girl ain't never even gonna look at a boy. I apologize for the way this sounds, but especially not that damn Jayme." Lincoln kidded right back.

"Jayme is for sure a whore. I can't even defend him on that one and he's only ten." Maddie laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Don't let me take up too much of your time. Ya'll go mingle." Lincoln sent them on their way.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Claybourne?" Deacon offered his hand to Rayna.

"Beings that I don't get you to dance with me that often I'm not gonna pass the chance up." Rayna took his hand and let him lead her out on the floor.

"Today is a special occasion I'm willin' to make an exception." Deacon smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck. "Darlin', you paid a lot of money for this weddin'. You were gonna dance with me whether you wanted to or not."

"Why do you think I asked you to dance? I was makin' it my choice." Deacon swept her across the floor gracefully.

"She really is a beautiful bride isn't she?" Rayna asked him.

"She is beyond gorgeous, Ray. This was more you than her and I know that. You did a great job. The weddin' and this reception have both been incredible. You are such a good momma." Deacon replied.

"You are an amazin' daddy. You've held it together even though I know you've been on the cusp of fallin' apart all day." Rayna brushed his cheek with her thumb.

"She's so happy that it doesn't hurt as bad as it did an hour ago. The dress you're wearin' also helps to distract me. I can't wait to take that off ya later." Deacon whispered huskily in her ear.

"I can't wait to get you outta that suit. You have no idea how much trouble I've had keepin' my hands off you." Rayna whispered back.

"I think that somethin' can be arranged later. I think that mawmaw can stay all night while we sneak up to the cabin." Deacon suggested.

"We will see how the night goes." Rayna kissed his cheek.

"Have I told you today how gorgeous you are?" Deacon stared deeply into her eyes.

"You have, but I will gladly listen to you say it as many times as you want to." Rayna smiled up at him.

"You are gorgeous." Deacon pecked her lips.

"And you are so handsome." Rayna grinned against his lips.

"Pop, do you mind if I cut in?" JC walked up after the song was over.

"You most certainly can." Deacon stepped back.

"There's my handsome son-in-law. I was wonderin' when you were gonna dance with me." Rayna smiled.

"I had to make the rounds, Momma Ray." JC smiled back.

"I have to tell you that you are glowin' right now." Rayna laughed at him.

"I'm pretty damn happy. She's my wife now. She didn't turn and run away." JC laughed.

"I don't know what you're laughin' at. I have a no returns policy. You bought her she's yours now." Rayna teased him.

"I wouldn't give her back for anythin' in the world." JC smiled brighter.

"If either of you gets any brighter I'm gonna need sunglasses to look at ya." Rayna was glad to see them so happy.

"She's perfect. Thank you so much for raisin' such an incredible woman. I don't know what I'd do without her." JC blushed a little bit.

"You're welcome. Thank you for bein' the kind of man that I can trust with her." Rayna replied.

"I do my best to do right by her." JC reassured her.

"So, when are you two gonna give me grandbabies?" Rayna wanted to make him squirm a little bit.

"Uh, uh," JC stammered.

"Relax, I'm only playin' 'round with you." Rayna laughed at the look on his face.

"Honestly, we both want kids soon. I just turned twenty-nine. I kinda want one before I turn thirty." JC grinned boyishly.

"I happen to think that you'll make a great daddy." Rayna compliments him.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh, Will, you have to look at this. It's the most adorable thing I've ever seen." Mack pointed his husband's attention to the dancefloor.

Will drank half of his beer before he turned to look. "What am I lookin' at?"

"Follow my finger. You're a little tipsy." Mack stabbed his finger in the direction he wanted him to look.

Jack and Lacey were on the dancefloor spinning around with their arms around each other.

"Nope, that's a nope. That's our little girl dancin' with a boy." Will shook his head violently.

"He's four and she's three. It is completely innocent at that age." Mack rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but have you seen his daddy and brothers? He's gonna be a fuckin' male model. How is she gonna be able to resist that?" Will tried to reason with him.

"Babe, you need to get yourself another drink and relax. They are babies." Mack laughed at him.

"I think you're right about that." Will grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter.

"Get drunk and it'll make it better." Mack patted him on the back.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it. I think we need one more chapter of wedding stuff before we move on to other stuff. I promise you that I have something fun coming up next. Until next time please review.


	68. Chapter 68

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 68

"Oh, my goodness, Jimmy you are so damn handsome." Amy fussed over JC when he and Maddie walked over to talk to them.

"Thanks, Amy," JC replied.

"You have gorgeous head of hair just like Vince. You should take that damn hat off more often." Amy stroked his cheek.

"Amy, he only takes that hat off for three things. He tried to wear it today, but my mom shut him down." Maddie chuckled.

"Kissin', showerin', and fuckin'. He really is his father in some ways." Amy supplied.

"Amy!" JC blushed bright red.

"Am I wrong?" Amy smirked.

"Jesus, Amy, I can't take you anywhere." Phil groaned and covered his face with his hand.

"Babe, I'm not the only one with an embarrassing mother." Maddie hid her smile behind her hand.

"I have two of 'em to embarrass the hell outta me. And now I have a mother-in-law that makes inappropriate comments." JC rolled his eyes.

"You're not the only one she makes inappropriate comments to. I swear she does it just to see if she can get a rise out of us." Maddie pointed out to him.

"She does indeed do it to get a rise outta us." JC pursed his lips and nodded his head.

"Before you both get too far off track with how embarrassing parents are I have something to say. Congratulations." Phil told them.

"Thanks, Phil," Maddie hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, thanks, Phil." JC smiled. "Amy, is your husband some kinda Yankee or somethin'?"

"He's not quite a Yankee, but he's not a good southern boy like you either. He's from Oklahoma. I'd like to see which one of ya would last the longest in a rodeo." Amy answered him.

"I'll accept him as a fellow cowboy though." JC laughed. "Seriously, though, Amy. Do you have a type or what?"

"Phil is western and Vince was southwestern. Those are two totally different regions. Deacon was the badass of the deep south and Vince was the badass of the southwest. They literally called themselves that. I'm not even kiddin' I wish I was." Amy shook her head.

"I would have paid good money to have seen my daddy and Vince together." Maddie laughed.

"You two are perfect together, but you come from an unholy combination of genetics. You tell Deacon I said this and I'll deny it, but Rayna and I weren't angels either." Amy informed them.

Rayna walked over to them a worried look on her face. "I don't know what this is, but no. Whatever she said is not true or a gross exaggeration."

"Mom, what does Amy know that you don't want us to know?" Maddie asked.

"There are too many things for me to number. If ya'll don't want me to do some diggin' into who let Jayme and Deac watch totally inappropriate cartoons and learn the phrase douche bag then you'll leave it alone. You can have your suspicions about the things I've done and I'll keep mine to myself. Remember that I don't have a hell of a lotta choices when it comes to that and Jimmy is the frontrunner." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"We are gonna take that deal." JC chimed in quickly.

"I thought you would." Rayna smirked.

* * *

"Paul, come over here and sit down with us." Dottie waved him over.

"Hey, Dottie, what can I do for you?" Paul took a seat at the table with Dottie. There was another man around her age at the table with her.

"You looked a little outta sorts I thought you could use some good company. Or in our case some company of questionable repute. We're more your type of people than my darlin' niece's other relations." Dottie retorted.

"You've got that right. I can't hold court with Lamar and Big Jack. I might as well come over here to my class of people." Paul grinned.

"Paul, have you ever met Rayna's Uncle Denny?" Dottie pointed at the man seated next to her

"I can't say that I recall either way." Paul replied.

"Denny Jaymes," Denny offered him his hand.

"Paul Claybourne," Paul shook his hand.

"You wrote with Ginny didn't ya?" Denny asked him. He laughed when he saw that Paul looked confused. "Sorry, force of habit. That's what I always called Virginia."

"Yeah, I worked with her for a little while. My daughter-in-law is a lot like her. Between you and me the older sister scares the hell outta even me and I used to be a card carryin' wife beatin' generally abusive alcoholic. I just don't let Tandy know that. I tread lightly 'round her when she does my taxes and manages my business ventures." Paul replied.

"I'll be damned if I don't like ya already. It takes a big man to admit to his shortcomings. This is definitely the black sheep table." Denny sipped his drink.

"Denny, you are more than a black sheep. The same goes for me." Dottie pointed out to him.

Denny shrugged and stuck his bottom lip out. "I won't argue that one."

"I'm just the poor, dirty ex-con." Paul chimed in.

"No shit? You've been to the pen?" Denny sounded impressed even though he shouldn't.

"I did two dimes and three pennies. I did the pennies for almost killin' my wife and I did the two dimes for beatin' the hell outta my ex son-in-law." Paul reported.

"You sir, are a badass except for the wife beatin' part." Denny raised his glass to him.

"The wife beatin' part wasn't my finest moment, but my daughter's ex deserved it and was so worth doin' time over." Paul retorted.

"Here's your drink, Aunt Dottie." Jack walked over to the table carrying a fresh drink for Dottie.

"Jack Henry, you are such a little gentleman. Thank you, for this. Did you get the other thing I asked you for?" Dottie took her drink from him.

"You're welcome." Jack took Lamar's cigar case out of his pocket. "I got it."

"You are perfect. If you and your momma weren't so damn attached to each other I'd take you home with me. You're a better shagger than your Uncle Nicky ever was." Dottie praised him.

"He's a Claybourne even though he looks just like his momma. He can't say no any time a woman asks him to do somethin'." Paul laughed and shook his head.

"I guess that explains how his momma got his daddy so wrapped around her finger the minute they met." Denny observed.

"I know she's your niece and my daughter-in-law, but she is gorgeous and he was a teenage boy when they met. That has a lot to do with it." Paul reasoned with him. He pulled Jack up on his lap.

Dottie reached over and covered Jack's ears. "Call it what it was. Rayna played with his willie and has had him by the balls ever since."

"Dottie!" Paul and Denny yelled at her at the same time.

* * *

"Hey, you having a good time?" Daphne walked over to Joel.

"I'm havin' a really good time." Joel smiled and kissed her softly.

Oh shit, which one of my relatives got you cornered and caused that smirk on your face?" Daphne searched his face worriedly.

"He looks like a young Hugh Hefner and has a voice like Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind." Joel described Nick to a T.

"Uncle Nicky. Great now I should be worried. There is no telling what he said to you." Daphne groaned.

"He's freakin' awesome, Daph. I want to be him when I grow and earn probably four hundred and fifty million dollars more." Joel joked.

"That sounds about right. That's what the IRS knows about anyway." Daphne teased him back.

"Who has time to report all their income to the IRS?" Joel smirked.

"That's such a pain in the ass." Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Have I told you yet today how beautiful you look?" Joel put his arms around her waist.

"You haven't, but I would enjoy hearing it." Daphne grinned.

"You are the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life." Joel captured her lips with his.

"You clean up nicely and I think it's time that I cashed in on the dance you owe me." Daphne grazed her nose against his.

"That can be arranged." Joel took her hand in his and led her out on the dancefloor.

"For a big dumb jock you're very light on your feet." Daphne complimented him.

"I'm a football player I had to take years of dance lessons to get footwork this great. Ballroom and ballet are both really good for quarterbacks." Joel spun her around and back into his arms to demonstrate.

"That was so hot, Joel. I'm not even gonna lie." Daphne giggled.

Joel smiled when he heard her laugh. "Damn, I love hearin' you laugh among other things. You've got me fallin' for you hard."

Daphne blushed and looked up at him. "I'm falling for you too and it scares the hell out of me."

"Don't be scared I'm gonna do my best not to hurt you. You are the most amazin' woman I've ever met." Joel smiled at her softly.

"I'm gonna hold you to that I've been hurt before. I'm gonna take this leap with you and I'm trusting you. That's a huge deal for me. My dad and his drama has severely screwed me up. I make horrible decisions with men and I sometimes have inappropriate reactions to normal things." Daphne replied.

"It's ok, I think I can handle you." Joel kissed her.

"I want you to handle me." Daphne kissed him again.

* * *

"Did you get it yet, Charlie?" Deac whispered to his sister.

"I'm workin' on it, Deac. You gotta give me a second." Charlie had her hand in the pocket of Paul's suit jacket digging around for something.

"Hurry up, he just went to the bathroom he will be back any second." Deac urged her on.

"I'm hurryin', Bubba. Keep your voice down." Charlie got what she was after and handed it to her brother.

"And what do you two think you're doin' goin' through your Pa's jacket?" Bobby walked up and startled them.

"Nothin', Uncle Bobby," The pair answered in unison. Deac hid his hands behind his back.

"I don't believe that at all." Bobby took the lighter from Deac. "What are ya'll doin' with this?"

"We needed it for somethin'." Charlie grinned innocently.

"You two are either sneakin' cigarettes or goin' to start a fire." Bobby crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh, uh, I don't know." Deac stammered.

"It's not that." Charlie added.

"You ain't smokin' or startin' a bonfire. I know what's goin' on. Deac, empty your pockets." Bobby tried his best not to smirk.

Deac reached into his pocket and took out two packs of firecrackers. "That's what we have."

Bobby put them in his pocket, but he gave the lighter back. "I will be taking those. No one is gonna get into mischief without me. Meet me outside in ten." He walked off before they could argue with him.

"Uncle Bobby is gonna get us into trouble." Deac observed.

"Since when do we care?" Charlie shrugged her shoulders. She was always down for whatever.

Deac nodded his head in agreement. "Let's go get Jayme and Cady. Maybe they wanna tag along."

"Sure," Charlie shrugged again.

"Come on, we just gotta walk past daddy to get to them." Deac put his arm around her shoulders.

Deacon had somehow gotten stuck talking to one of Rayna's aunts without her present. She was her aunt on her mother's side of the family. "Brenda, it was really good of ya to come."

"Deacon, she is my great niece. Of course, I was gonna come." Brenda replied.

"Your actual niece is 'round here somewhere if you wanna talk to her. Though, I lost track of her an hour ago." Deacon gave her an easy smile.

"That sounds about right when it comes to you two. I don't mean to alarm you, but your father is sitting at a table with my brother and Dottie. I don't think that will end well, but I'm gonna leave it alone." Brenda told him.

"I try not to keep track of what he does and damn sure don't keep tabs on Dottie." Deacon shook his head.

"You're probably better off that way." Brenda agreed with him.

Deac and Charlie caught his eye. "If you'll excuse me I need to go talk to my children they look like they are up to somethin'."

"Of course," Brenda smiled at him.

"You two stop right there." Deacon ordered his children.

Deac and Charlie stopped in their tracks.

"What do you need, daddy?" Charlie asked him sweetly. Her father had a huge blind spot where she was concerned and he tended to believe what she said even when he knew he shouldn't.

"What are you two up to?" Deacon arched his eyebrow at them.

"Nothin', daddy," Deac did his best to sound like he wasn't up to something.

"Empty your pockets. I love ya'll, but you're my little schemers." Deacon crossed his arms over his chest.

Deac took Paul's lighter out of his pocket. "I have this."

Deacon took the zippo lighter and studied it. It had the Marine Corps emblem on it and Paul's name engraved on back. "This is Pa's lighter. This is his favorite lighter, as a matter of fact. Do I wanna know what you're up to?"

"Nope," Charlie supplied helpfully.

"Will what you're up to in any way upset your momma and or cause property damage?" Deacon asked them.

"It's always possible it'll upset momma, but no property damage." Deac shrugged.

"If you get caught I didn't know anythin' 'bout this. Do what ya'll are gonna do. Go on and get outta here." Deacon thought that they deserved the chance to cut loose a little bit too. They had been very well behaved.

"Ok," They answered in unison.

Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose he was probably gonna live to regret this one.

* * *

"Hello, beautiful niece of mine." JC grinned like a fool at his oldest niece.

"Hello, my crazy Uncle Jimmy." Sydney was Hailey's oldest and she was the spitting image of her mother. She was only a year younger than Maddie.

"You can call me crazy all you want to, but you know I'm your favorite." JC winked at her.

"Who else was gonna be my favorite? Uncle Bobby? He's not the one who used to sneak me beers when no one else was looking." Sydney laughed.

"I had to get you to like me somehow." JC shrugged his shoulders.

"That and you like pissin' my momma off." Sydney pointed out to him.

"When I went through my rebel phase it was your momma I rebelled against. With Jeremy for a brother there was really nothin' that I could do to shock my parents." JC retorted.

"Because pissing off that sister is a good idea. That's almost as bad as pissing off my mom." Maddie looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Maddie, you should be aware by now that my uncle doesn't have any good sense, but you married him anyway." Sydney joked.

"What can I say? I love the idiot. He's a really great guy." Maddie told her.

"You deserve a medal for agreein' to marry him." Sydney replied.

"My family says the same thing to him about me. I hate to say it, but I'm just a tad bit more difficult to live with than he is." Maddie admitted.

"I'm gonna want that in writin'." JC could barely keep a straight face.

"You going for the world's shortest marriage? We haven't even filed the license yet. I will go find it and rip it up if you start in with me." Maddie warned him playfully.

"Oh, Uncle Jimmy, I knew I've always liked her for a reason." Sydney pinched JC's cheek.

"You like her 'cause you two swap clothes and makeup. And because her and Casey would give you the expensive clothes that you weren't supposed to have." JC arched his eyebrow.

"Because my daddy is ridiculous when it comes to certain things and he would try to put his foot down every now and then." Sydney made a show of rolling her eyes.

"Max is the easy one when compared with your mother." JC scoffed.

"Everyone is easy when compared to my momma." Sydney had to agree with him there.

* * *

"Who do I have to bribe for the pleasure of a dance with ya?" Paul walked up behind June and whispered in her ear.

"Tonight of all nights you finally wanna do this? You've had months to do what I asked you to and you want to go public at our granddaughter's weddin'?" June gave him a scathing look to match the tone of her voice.

"I never said I was a smart man and neither did you for that matter." Paul defended himself.

"If you wanna dance with me you're gonna have to do what I asked you too." June didn't back down.

"Like you said it's our granddaughter's weddin'. It'd look weird if we didn't dance." Paul tried to weasel his way out of doing what she wanted him to.

"I don't give a good damn how it'll look, Deacon. I asked you to do somethin' and I'm not gonna change my mind 'bout it. If you want me and you truly love me earn me. I told you that I ain't goin' back to what it was like before with ya." June crossed her arms.

"If that's the way your stubborn ass wants to play it watch this." Paul marched over to where Deacon and Rhett were standing together.

"Hey, Paul, stayin' outta trouble?" Deacon asked him.

"I'm gonna cut through all the bullshit and get right to the chase. DJ, Rhett, the fact is I love your momma and I wanna spend the little bit of time I got left on this earth with her. She won't have me 'less I get her boys' permission. I'm askin' ya'll man to man. Is it ok with you if I'm with her?" Paul bit the bullet and just asked them.

"She said those actual words to you?" Rhett hid an amused grin.

"Are you serious right now?" Deacon's eyebrows shot up to his hairline in shock.

"Yes and yes. She's a very complicated woman." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"How long has this been goin' on?" Rhett asked. He didn't want to see his father hurt the woman who had become a second mother to him again.

"A few months." Paul answered.

"And you choose now to tell me? Now? At my daughter's weddin' when I'm already under all kinda stress? You're timin' really sucks, Paul." Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.

"So, what do you boys say?" Paul asked. He looked over his shoulder and saw June watching them.

"I say I just started to trust you a little bit and let you in. I love June very much and if you hurt her again I'll break your old ass neck." Rhett crossed his arms.

"For tonight I say that's up to her. You and I will have a more in depth conversation 'bout this later. I lived through this damn movie before and I saw how it ended. After he breaks your neck I'll break both your arms off and shove them up your ass." Deacon said in a conversational tone.

"I think I can handle that." Paul nodded his head and walked back over to June.

"What is it 'bout him that women are drawn to?" Rhett just looked confused.

"I have no words right now. The only thing that I know for sure is you and I got whatever it is. You tell me that either one of us really deserves the wives that we've got. They are completely out of our league." Deacon had to laugh to keep from going crazy.

"Speak for yourself. I'm a catch. Sadie is damn lucky to have me." Rhett smirked.

"This is why you're always in the dog house with your woman and I'm not." Deacon pointed out to him.

"The only reason you're not always in trouble is 'cause Ray has you whipped and everyone knows it." Rhett shot back.

"I ain't whipped I just really enjoy makin' my wife happy. It makes my life so much easier." Deacon rolled his eyes at his baby brother.

"I believe that that is the definition of whipped." Rhett corrected him.

"I believe that I would like to kick your ass." Deacon cuffed him lightly on the side of his head.

"I'd like to see you try." Rhett punched his shoulder lightly. "The crazy part is she looks happy to be with him." He changed the subject back to Paul and June.

"She loves him. She never stopped lovin' him." Deacon sighed in resignation. His parents were both grown adults there was nothing that he could do to control them.

"I just don't wanna see him hurt her again." Rhett had come to much the same conclusion as his older brother.

"I don't think he's gonna hurt her again. If he even tries to pull the shit that he used to she'll use her shotgun on him." Deacon chuckled softly.

"I don't doubt it." Rhett laughed with him.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry for the long wait I've had some stuff going on. I think I'm gonna wrap the wedding stuff up in the next chapter. Until next time please review.


	69. Chapter 69

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. I changed the name of Deac's friend from Kenzie to Dakota. Just thought I'd give you the head's up to avoid confusion.

* * *

Chapter 69

"It took ya'll long enough to meet me out here. I was startin' to think that ya'll was gonna stand me up." Bobby stood outside the barn with a lit cigarette.

"We had to get past daddy, Uncle Bobby." Deac told him.

"I can't get do anythin' in this stupid dress." Charlie grumbled.

"You are you're daddy's daughter." Bobby chuckled. He took a pack of fire crackers out of his pocket. "Who wants to help me terrorize my big sister?"

"I'm good at terrorizin' big sisters. Mine always tell me that they are gonna sell me." Jayme supplied helpfully.

"You're always getting into Daphne's stuff that's why she wants to sell you." Cadence reminded him. If Jayme was getting into mischief chances were she wasn't far behind. She was close to both the twins since they were so close in age, but she was closer to Jayme.

"Maddie wants to sell Deac 'cause he never does what she tells him too." Dakota added. She and Deac were attached at the hip.

Bobby pulled his phone out. "Ok, ya'll shh. I'm gonna get Aunt Hailey to come out here." He put his finger up to his lips and dialed his sister's number. "Hailey, I need you to meet me out behind the barn. I gotta show you somethin' that I don't want momma and daddy to see." He listened to what she had to say. "Ok, I'll see ya in a minute."

"Now what, Uncle Bobby?" Charlie's eyes lit up. This was the most fun she'd had all day.

"Now we wait for the right time." Bobby opened the firecrackers and found the wick.

Hailey walked out a moment later. "What do you need, Bobby?"

Bobby lit the fuse and threw the firecrackers at his sister. He laughed when she let out a high-pitched yelp.

"Robert, you better run. I'm gonna kick your ass so hard." Hailey took her heels off and hiked up her dress. She ran after her brother.

"Be a lady, Hailey. It is unladylike to beat the shit outta your little brother at your other brother's weddin'." Bobby took off running.

"Bobby, get your ass back here. If I have to chase you down I'm only gonna make it hurt worse when I catch you." Hailey yelled at him.

"Run faster, Uncle Bobby!" Jayme egged him on.

"Robert Wayne, I swear to God! You know that you can't outrun me. You've never been able to. I grew up on a ranch I can run faster barefoot than you can in shoes!" Hailey caught up to him and jumped on his back. She popped him on the back of the head repeatedly.

"Ow! Damn it, Hailey! Stop doin' that you're gonna make me drop ya! You're crazier than a shithouse rat." Bobby yelped in pain.

"Bobby Wayne Grayson! You are the biggest pain in the ass." Hailey hit him with one of her heels.

"What is goin' on out here?" Rayna walked out.

"Aunt Hailey is beatin' Uncle Bobby up." Charlie answered.

"Come on, ya'll. I still can't take you people anywhere." Rayna yelled at them.

Hailey jumped off Bobby's back and put her shoes back on. "Rayna, consider yourself lucky that you don't have younger siblings. Little brothers are a pain in the ass. This one is in his forties and he's still as bad as he was as a child. He called me out here just to throw firecrackers at me."

Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Deacon John Jr, you are the only person I know who hordes firecrackers."

"It wasn't me, momma." Deac defended himself.

"Charleston Virginia, if those didn't belong to him they're yours. I shoulda looked at you first. You're worse than those three boys dare to be and I love ya for it, but do you really think now is the time for firecrackers? Did you think it was smart to give 'em to your Uncle Bobby?" Rayna questioned her.

"In my defense Uncle Bobby took my firecrackers I didn't give them to him." Charlie defended herself.

"Jaymes, Cadence, and Dakota, if any of ya'll have any more firecrackers give 'em to me. If have 'em no one can get into any more trouble with 'em." Rayna held her hand out.

"I don't have any, momma." Jayme told her.

"I don't guess you three would. That's more a Charlie and Deac thing. And really it's more a Charlie thing." Rayna nodded her head in understanding. Then a confused look crossed her face. "Charlie, how did you get so many firecrackers? You don't have any pockets and I checked your brothers for contraband."

"That stupid purse you made me carry turned out to be good for somethin'. I fit a whole bunch of firecrackers in it." Charlie answered with a shrug.

"Of course, you did. That's a thing you do. If I hadn't carried you for nine months I would doubt that I had anythin' to do with you comin' into this world. That is somethin' your daddy would do. There's no hope for you." Rayna shook her head.

"You wanna take all my firecrackers before I can sneak attack Gunnar or Uncle Nicky." Charlie looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"You need to leave Gunnar alone. Your sister and her friends do enough to him. I will let you keep some of your firecrackers if you promise to use them on Uncle Nicky and only Uncle Nicky." Rayna relented a little.

"It's a deal." Charlie agreed.

"Ray, did you just agree to give your little criminal firecrackers?" Bobby asked her

"It was either give them to her or let her come up with some other craziness." Rayna replied.

"You can build a flame thrower with a lighter and a can of hairspray." Charlie volunteered.

"That is why we have to hide all the lighters in the house. In case anyone was wondering. I have a few little firebugs livin' under my roof." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"Your husband bein' the biggest firebug of 'em all. I've never known Deacon not to have a fire burnin'." Bobby pointed out.

"That's why Deacon has his damn den. He'd burn me outta the house if I let him. He's obviously passed his love of fires down to his kids. They could build a fire before they could walk damn near. I have two normal daughters, but my sons and my youngest daughter ain't right." Rayna shrugged.

"Rayna, you're gettin' a little drunk. Your natural accent is startin' to mix with that uptown waspy country club accent that you use when you're conductin' business." Hailey observed.

"I'm a little intoxicated and my work accent is startin' to blend in with my natural accent. Try coverin' that up in a business meetin'. Or even worse try havin' Deacon in a business meetin'. Sometimes I don't even understand the things that come outta his mouth sometimes." Rayna retorted.

"Yeah, we better take this back inside before my brother AKA Smokey the Bear teaches your children some things that you don't want them to know." Hailey suggested.

"Oh yeah, it's a miracle that he's been outside alone with them so long and he hasn't lit up somethin' other than a cigarette." Rayna pursed her lips.

"Let me point out somethin' to ya'll for a moment. I have children I know how to behave in front of 'em. Also, I promised Allie that I wouldn't smoke without her. And Casey promised me some good stuff if I waited for her. I wasn't gonna turn that down. My momma didn't raise no fools. A few addicts maybe and a ragin' psycho, but no fools." Bobby pointed at Hailey when he mentioned the word psycho.

"Bobby Wayne, don't make me beat your ass in front of these kids." Hailey glared at him.

"What were you doin' when I came out here if you weren't beatin' his ass?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"I was defendin' myself." Hailey adjusted her dress and put her heels back on.

"Charlie is either gonna grow up to be you or Casey and that scares the hell outta me." Rayna sighed.

* * *

Deacon loosened his tie and pulled it down. He'd had just about all he could stand of it.

"You look like you're 'bout ready to run off to the house and put your jeans and flannel on." Amy walked up next to him.

"Don't tempt me. That sounds like the best damn idea I've heard all day." Deacon sipped his sweet tea.

"No matter how old you get you don't change much." Amy observed.

"I really don't. I like my jeans and flannel. I like sittin' in my den with the fire goin' and watchin' tv with my boots up on the table and my dog layin' on the couch next to me." Deacon replied.

"You are a little old man. I'm surprised that Ray let you have a dog and that she lets you have him on the couch." Amy chuckled.

"I never claimed to be anythin' other than who I am. I bought the dog without her knowledge and she secretly loves him. He was Maddie and Daphne's dog then he became mine and now he's more or less Deac's. The reason he gets to be on the couch is it's the couch I bought when we moved into my old place." Deacon explained to her.

"Yep, a little old man." Amy nodded her head.

"I've pretty much always been this way. I don't know why anythin' I does surprises anyone." Deacon shrugged.

"Here, I need you to hold on to those and not do anythin' that could be considered juvenile with them." Rayna walked up behind him and slipped the firecrackers she'd taken away from the kids.

"What is that?" Deacon looked confused.

"Firecrackers that I took from your children. Your precious little daddy's girl was the ringleader." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I refuse to believe it. That sounds like somethin' that Jayme would cook up, but not my Charlie." Deacon said in mock indignation.

"You're not that stupid. You know better than that. You're the one that says she's more redneck than your boys are. On a redneck scale between you and my daddy. You bein' the most redneck and my daddy bein' the least she's a good solid Luke Bryan. In case you're wonderin' he falls just under Vince on that scale." Rayna winked at him.

"Babe, you are the only person I know crazy enough to create a redneck scale. I'd give her an Aldean at the most." Deacon laughed at her.

"I would say that her scale is very accurate." Amy supported Rayna.

"Don't you two go gangin' up on me. You know that it ain't fair for ya'll to team up against me without my partner to back me up." Deacon glared at them.

"Are you forgettin' that you don't really have a partner in crime anymore?" Rayna asked him.

"Yeah I do. Of course, I do." Deacon waved someone over.

"What do you need Freakin' Deacon?" Nick walked over like a little overzealous puppy dog.

"You get to be my partner in crime. I need you to back me up with your cousin." Deacon looped his arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"Really? You want me to be your partner in crime? That's awesome. What do I gotta do? Do you need me to go fuck shit up?" Nick had always looked up to Deacon.

"Tell these two crazy women that they don't get to gang up on me." Deacon told him.

"Ya'll don't get to gang up on my boy. Not without his backup here." Nick parroted.

"Ok, no. I am not ok with you bein' his partner in crime. Him and his former partner in crime taught you all your bad habits. You don't need any more bad habits." Rayna looked at him unimpressed.

"I'm not some little kid anymore, Ray. Cut me a break. I can't be corrupted any more than I already have been." Nick crossed his arms.

Rayna laughed at the pout on his face. "Be friends with Deacon if you must. It's not like you two can get into much trouble."

"I got old and borin'." Deacon admitted.

"I'm ok with that. I can't party the way I used to." Nick laughed.

Paul walked over to them patting his pockets down. "Have any of ya'll seen my lighter?"

"What lighter, Paul?" Rayna asked him.

"My Zippo with the Marine Corps emblem on it. My name is engraved on the back of it." Paul gave a detailed description.

"Oh, you might wanna check with your grandchildren. Try my oldest son and my youngest daughter." Deacon volunteered.

"Two damn firebugs just like their daddy." Paul muttered and walked away shaking his head.

"We are gonna wake up one day to a raging inferno." Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose.

* * *

Jack had a huge grin on his face as he walked to Maddie. "You look really pretty today, Sissy. Will you dance with me?"

Maddie's face broke out in a wide grin. "Thank you, Jackie. I would love to dance with you."

"You're welcome, Maddie." Jack took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Maddie stooped down so she could dance with him. "You look very handsome today. Thank you, for being part of my wedding."

"Thank you for askin' me." Jack smiled up at her.

"I couldn't have done it without you." Maddie stroked his cheek. She babied the little boy just as much as everyone else did.

"Ya'll mind if I cut in? I think I can make this a little easier." JC picked Jack up and put him on his hip. He put his free arm around Maddie.

"This is much better." Maddie looked into JC's eyes lovingly.

"Easier than you havin' to stoop to his level in that dress. I'm still tryin' to figure out how I'm even gonna get you outta it later." JC swayed back and forth.

Jack laid his head on JC's shoulder and yawned.

"This dress is easy to get off. That was one of the things I took into account before I bought it. Look at how tired he is." Maddie ran her hand through Jack's hair.

"I'm grateful for that. He's partied hard this is way past his bedtime. This back and forth motion is puttin' him to sleep." JC looked down at Jack.

"I think he's gonna be out of it any minute now." Maddie chuckled softly.

"He didn't even need his binky or blanket this time." JC kissed his head.

"Jimmy, there you are. You're gonna need to untangle yourself from your bride for a minute, 'cause we need to borrow ya." Bobby locked onto JC's shoulder with an iron grip.

"Bobby, what are you up to?" JC eyed him warily.

Jeremy put his hand on his other shoulder. "We are gonna need to borrow you and tap into one of the time-honored Grayson traditions."

"No chance in hell am I engagin' in any craziness right now." JC shook his head.

"Yeah, you are. You don't have a choice in the matter. You guys are gonna do what you do best when you've been drinkin'." Allie chimed in.

"MJ is already on board with this idea." Hallie added. "I will just take him." She took Jack out of his arms. "Come see Aunt Hailey, sleepy boy."

Jack yawned bigger and snuggled up against Hailey.

"What exactly is going on here?" Maddie was clearly confused.

"The boys are 'bout to take the Texan on this party up a notch." Allie answered cryptically.

"I'm sure that I don't wanna know what that means." Maddie laughed.

"You really don't." JC took his suit jacket off and folded it up neatly. "If I'm gonna do this I'm not gonna do it in this monkey suit."

Bobby held out a shot glass to him. "Here's a little liquid courage."

JC threw back the shot like it was water. "Whew, let's do this thing then."

"Seriously, what's going on?" Maddie asked again when she saw Max walk over with her dad.

"We are gettin' ready to do a little line dancin' and your daddy is gonna join us." Max finally gave her an answer.

"Now, this I have to see. Daddy doesn't dance." Maddie grinned.

Deacon bent down and kissed Jack's head. "You gettin' tired, Henry?"

"No, I'm just restin'." Jack yawned.

"I don't think I believe that for a second." Hailey chuckled softly.

"He's gonna be wantin' his momma here in a minute." Deacon's eyes creased when he smiled. "If ya'll are gonna make me do this let's do it now."

"We ain't doin' this one without ya. You're the one who knows all the steps." Max clapped him on the back.

"No. No way. We ain't doin' that dance. I ain't as young as I used to be and I just had open heart surgery." Deacon groaned.

"I had the same damn surgery a few years ago stop tryin' to use that as an excuse." Max elbowed him playfully.

"Alright, Black Betty it is. Let's do it." Deacon relented. He took his jacket off. "Henry, watch daddy and see if he can still pull this off." He ruffled Jack's hair.

"Maddie, this is hilarious and you're gonna wanna watch very closely. I've even got my son in on this." Allie told her.

"Which one? The one who's half drug dealer, the one who's half car thief, or the one who's half sociopath?" Hailey did her best to keep a straight face.

"You love all three of your nephews and you know it." Allie rolled her eyes.

"I love my nephews. I just hate the men who fathered them." Hailey corrected her.

"In answer to your question I'm just makin' the oldest do this." Allie retorted.

"Good, you better not subject my two baby boys to this. I don't make your younger nephew do this either." Hailey replied.

"Ya'll come on. I've got Harley ready to take video." MJ urged them.

"Who gave you the authority to hire yourself an assistant?" Deacon laughed at him.

"The temporary CFO approved it. If you don't like it take it up with him. Also, please don't let the other redheaded dragon sister fire my assistant when she comes back." MJ rattled off.

"I will let you take that up with her. You and Nicky are both her projects." Deacon waved his hand dismissively. "Let's go do Black Betty. This dance is a thing of beauty and ya'll better appreciate it." He just wanted to get it over with.

"This is gonna be so hilarious. I bet he ends up huffin' and puffin' like a tank engine." Rayna walked over to get a better look at the spectacle her husband was about to put on. "Hailey, are you tryin' to steal my baby?"

"Yes, I am. He is absolutely adorable and almost asleep." Hailey whispered.

"It's past his bedtime." Rayna ran her fingers through her little boy's hair.

"And here we go. Maddie watch closely. There's a very good chance that you're gonna get roped into doin' this routine one day." Allie teased.

"We've all had to do it." Rayna sighed loudly.

"There's a story behind that and one day when I'm actually sober you're gonna have to tell me what my brother and your husband did when they were drunk and came up with this dance." Allie replied. She was quite a bit younger than Vince and she hadn't known him as well as Hailey or Bobby had.

"Honey, I haven't had enough to drink to tell you 'bout the antics that those two used to get up to." Rayna sipped her drink.

"Mom, how do you take your husband out in public? This dance routine may be the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen." Maddie clapped her hands and laughed loudly.

"Baby girl, your daddy and his crazy best friend did way worse than come up with this dance in public. The only thing I had to be thankful for was that we were in Austin when they came up with it." Rayna kissed her cheek.

"Mom, how are you so normal and sober actin' right now? I think I got a little drunker breathin' in fumes from you." Maddie smiled brightly. "On second thought, maybe this dance isn't so ridiculous after all. Jimmy's ass really great in those dress pants."

"Maddie, please don't make me gag." Hailey groaned.

"He has a hot ass and I'm not even gonna apologize for the dirty thoughts that makes me have." Maddie smirked.

"You aren't gonna voice those thoughts out loud for the sake of your momma, 'cause she doesn't wanna hear it and 'cause your baby brother doesn't need to." Rayna told her as sternly as she could.

"What did you think?" Deacon walked back over panting.

"I think you still got it, babe." Rayna smiled and stole a kiss from him.

"I think that you should never do that in public again." Tandy heckled him.

"Thank you, babe." Deacon smiled against her lips. His grin grew wider as an idea hit him. "Mad Max! Nicky! How would you two like to help me cause a little trouble?"

"What kinda trouble?" Nick asked.

"I'm always down for hell raisin' you know that." Max shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure I wanna know what you're up to, so I won't ask." Rayna looked between the three of them.

"You're gonna wanna step behind me." Deacon whispered and pointed with his eyes to Tandy.

"Oh, I am in on this I am in." Rayna automatically knew what he was talking about.

"Nicky, lure your cousin over that way." Deacon jerked his head in the direction that he wanted Tandy to go.

"I can for sure make that happen." Nick smirked and walked over to where Tandy stood. "Hey, Tan, I got a question for ya." He pulled her off to the side.

"Tell me you have a lighter." Rayna whispered lowly to Deacon.

"Babe, of course I have a lighter. Do you know who you're talkin' to?" Deacon chuckled.

"You make a good point." Rayna granted him his point.

"What are you two doing?" Maddie asked her parents.

"Somethin' that your brothers and sister got in trouble for." Deacon took a lighter and a couple firecrackers out of his pocket.

"Of course, they had firecrackers. They probably got them from Jimmy anyway." Maddie shook her head.

"You're gonna wanna cover your ears." Rayna advised her.

"Give me a couple of those. I'm gonna get in trouble anyway. I may as well do somethin' to earn it." Max held his hand out.

"What are you gonna do with 'em?" Deacon handed him a couple.

"I got a sister-in-law that I haven't aggravated in months." Max replied.

"Let's do this." Deacon flicked his lighter. He threw a couple of firecrackers behind Tandy.

Max tossed his behind Allie.

"Deacon! You asshole!" Tandy yelled.

"It couldn't be helped, Tandy. I really couldn't resist it." Deacon doubled over laughing.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait things have been kinda hectic lately. I have some free time now and I hope to get the story moving again. I hope ya'll have had as much fun with this wedding as I have. Until next time please review.


	70. Chapter 70

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 70

Rayna sat on the balcony that was off her bedroom. She was wearing a hoody and a holy pair of jeans. She had just gotten out of the shower and she was taking a minute to herself to relax and watch the sun come up. After all the hard work she'd done on Maddie's wedding she deserved the downtime. She took a sip of her coffee and sank back into her chair with a satisfied sigh.

"You're lookin' mighty hot for a woman that just snuck outta my bed." Deacon stood in the doorway.

"You have to really love me. This is me fresh out of the shower in my comfortable clothes without any makeup on." Rayna held up her coffee cup and offered it to him.

"This is how I like you best. Without all the makeup and fancy clothes." Deacon took the coffee cup and took a sip. He sat down in the chair next to her.

"The older I get the better I like myself that way too. It's a lot less work." Rayna reached over and took his hand.

"The older I get the more I wanna sit around in my jeans and flannel with you and my dog while the little monsters tear the house down around us." Deacon squeezed her hand.

"They wouldn't just tear the house down they would burn it down. These are your children we're talkin' about. They got their love for playin' with fire from you." Rayna pointed out to him.

"They know that fires are fire places and fire pits only. They don't play with fire so much as they enjoy buildin' fires." Deacon defended his children.

"You have to defend them because you know they are just like you that way." Rayna winked at him.

"The likin' to build fires thing they get from me. There are a lot of your undesirable traits kickin' 'round in 'em too." Deacon leaned over and kissed her.

"They get all their undesirable traits from you. I thought you knew that." Rayna rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

"Of course, they do. I'm just thankful that those little people are sleepin' right now." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"How do you feel knowin' that our oldest baby is a married woman now?" Rayna asked him.

"I went and sat in her room for a little while before I came to bed last night. I know that nothin' has really changed, but she really is an adult now." Deacon frowned a little.

"Aw, baby, that is so sweet. You just love 'em all so much. It's so adorable. I couldn't have picked a better daddy for them." Rayna stroked his chin with her thumb.

"I couldn't have picked a better momma for 'em." Deacon got mushy with her.

"What are you doin' up so early?" Rayna looked at him curiously.

"I just got a phone call from Rusty who got a call from Buck who got a call from CMT. Their host for the award's show had to back out last minute and they wanted me to do it. I said yes. We were gonna be in town and I thought it could be fun. And they really wanted me to do it, 'cause they said pretty much everyone likes me and I have a good stage presence or somethin'." Deacon explained.

"Babe, that is so great. I'm proud of you. You are gonna be good at this." Rayna praised him.

"I think it could be fun. It's good PR for the label and I know that we need that." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"You are the best husband and business partner in the world, babe." Rayna crawled into his lap and peppered kisses across his jawline.

"I'm glad you said that. You're gonna be in the celebrity charity softball game. You're gonna be on my team." Deacon nuzzled her neck with his lips.

"You're lucky that I love you. I hope that you don't expect me to do anythin' other than stand out there and look pretty. You know me better than that, sugar." Rayna giggled.

"That's all I expect outta you. I know you too well." Deacon laughed and kissed her deeply.

Rayna put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him back. "What kinda god awful uniform am I gonna have to wear?"

"I got a special uniform just for you. Some hot little cutoffs and a tied up t-shirt. Maybe you can do that side ponytail you're so fond of." Deacon pinched her ass playfully.

Rayna laughed again. "Deacon John, you better behave yourself. I can't wear that in public I am a momma. However, if you play your cards right I could wear somethin' like that for you in private."

"I would love that. That sounds amazin'. Those kids are still sleepin'. I could think of a thing or two we could do to pass the time." Deacon rubbed against her suggestively.

"Oh, darlin', I love you and I can feel how much you want to. Honey, I'm still drunk right now and it's not the frisky let's have hot sex drunk. It's the my world is spinnin' and I'm tryin' not to puke drunk. And I just took a shower. I'm mostly concerned that havin' sex right now will make me puke. I want to, baby, but I don't think you want me to puke while we're fuckin'." Rayna retorted.

"I'll tell you what. We will take a raincheck on the sex for now. Next weekend you and I will go up to the cabin and spend some much needed alone time together. We have another busy week comin' up and we have earned some time together. How's that sound to you?" Deacon kissed her forehead.

"That sounds amazin', babe." Rayna agreed with him.

"We just need to get away from these people and our children for a couple of days. I love 'em, but they are a handful." Deacon chuckled.

"The firecracker incident aside. They were very well behaved. I also have to agree with you 'bout needin' some time away from our family. I'm pretty sure my cousin is passed out in your den right now. You really made his day by askin' him to be your partner in crime. He looks up to you he always has." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Nicky is a good kid he always has been. I don't mind takin' him under my wing. Someone has to be as badass as I am." Deacon kissed her again.

"I'm not sure that the world needs anyone else like you. I love you, but you are one of a kind." Rayna smiled against his lips.

"Wanna go lay in bed until the room stops spinnin'?" Deacon suggested.

"That would be perfect, babe." Rayna nodded her head slowly.

"Come on, let's go lay down, my little drunk." Deacon stood up and carried her to bed.

* * *

"Oh, God, Joel, it's very early. What are you doin' up already?" Daphne wandered into her parents' kitchen and found her boyfriend making breakfast.

"I hope your momma and daddy don't mind, but I have a killer hangover and the only thing that'll make it better is a greasy breakfast." Joel looked over his shoulder and smiled at her.

"Mom and dad don't care. If they have it here they want you to help yourself to it. They will probably be happy that they don't have to make breakfast." Daphne hoisted herself up on the counter.

"Your parents are the most down to earth people for celebrities. I kinda expected that your daddy would be laid back and cool. But, I didn't think your momma would be as chill as she is." Joel replied.

"You are the first person to ever refer to my dad as a celebrity. He doesn't act like one. He reminds you of everyone's kindly uncle. Mom on the other hand can be a diva when she wants to be. Obviously, Maddie is more like mom that way and somehow, I turned out like dad. Me and him are more content to just chill out when we're off stage. Mom and Maddie are always camera ready." Daphne explained to him.

"How is it that we have the house pretty much to ourselves right now? I'm surprised one of your brothers or your sister hasn't popped in here yet." Joel started putting food on plates.

"They stayed up way past their bedtime last night. They shouldn't be up for a while yet. If we are lucky." Daphne yawned.

"I'm pretty sure that little one runs on sugar and raw energy." Joel observed about Jack.

Daphne chuckled. "That is about right on the money. We're extremely lucky we didn't wake up with him in my bed."

"He's so damn adorable. I don't think I've ever met a little kid that funny before." Joel grinned.

"He's cute and he knows that he's cute. He might be the one of us who has a really big ego." Daphne joked.

"Have you met your sister?" Joel winked at her.

"She does have a huge ego. Jack Henry's may end up being bigger though. Basically, all mom does is sit and tell him how handsome and smart he is. It's all gonna go to his head." Daphne waved him over to her.

"He's the baby and he's a boy. Boys have a special attachment to their mommas." Joel walked over to her.

Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You are wonderful. There aren't many men out there that can put up with my crazy family and enjoy it. You don't quite have Jimmy status yet with the munchkins, but I know that they really like you. My mawmaw and Pa like you. I guess my pawpaw likes you with him you can never tell. Mom and dad both adore you. I mean mom obviously already treats you like part of the family. She has you moving furniture and stuff like you're one of her boys. Dad just kinda sits and grunts at you and for him that's good. I'm not really sure how my other dad feels about you, but he's not really as involved in my life and his opinion doesn't hold as much weight. Most importantly, though, I really like you."

Joel ran his hands up and down her sides with a smile on his face. "I'm pretty damn fond of your family and I really like you too."

Daphne ran her fingers through Joel's hair and smiled back at him. "I love you, Joel."

"I love you too, Daphne." Joel kissed her again.

"You're stuck with me now. I hope you know that." Daphne grinned against his lips.

"I can't think of a thing I rather be." Joel grazed his nose against hers. He rubbed his beard against her neck.

Daphne threw her head back and laughed. "Damn it, Joel, stop it. You play entirely too much."

"You love it and me you just said so." Joel teased her.

"I do love you. And I haven't said that to many men I'm not related to. This is a really big deal to me. So, don't hurt me, ok?" Daphne rested her forehead against his.

"I love you too. I promise that I'm not gonna hurt you on purpose. I can't promise not to hurt you I'm only human. I can promise that I will do my best to never actively try to hurt you. I travel a lot for my work and you do too and I promise that you never have to worry 'bout me messin' 'round on ya. I won't always be right here with ya, but I will always be thinkin' 'bout ya." Joel peppered kisses up and down her neck.

Daphne moaned lowly. "I can accept that. You better stop before this gets outta hand."

"Your words say stop, but your body is tellin' me to keep goin'." Joel laughed against her neck.

Daphne bit her lip to contain a louder moan when she felt his hot breath tickle her neck. "If I thought we had a chance of pulling this off without getting caught you're not reading the signs wrong at all."

"What is it with the women in this family always sittin' on the counter? I eat my cereal there while momma has her mornin' gossip session with Aunt Tandy." Jack smacked himself in the center of the forehead. He had the habit of walking into the room at the worst possible times.

"Jack Henry, what are you doin' up already, buddy?" Joel pulled away from Daphne so the little boy didn't know what was going on.

"I got up 'cause I was hungry and I couldn't sleep no more." Jack crossed his arms over his chest.

"Joel, made breakfast. Do you want some?" Daphne spoke softly to him.

"What I want is for there not to be gross butt germs where I eat my cereal and watch my cartoons in the mornin'. And no more kissin' there either. Also, I'm tellin' daddy that you had a boy here. Jimmy marryin' Maddie was one thing, he's like my big brother. I don't know Joel that good yet. If he's gonna try and take my other sissy away from me he's gotta be my friend first." Jack fixed a cute pout on his face.

"Oh, poor Charlie is never datin'." Joel hid his smirk behind his hand.

"Come to sissy, Jackie Bear." Daphne bent over and lifted him up onto her lap. "Listen up, little man, Maddie got married and one day I'll married and Charlie will get married. That's normal. What will never change is the fact that you, Deac, Jayme, and daddy were all the first men we ever loved. You will always be super special and important to us."

Jack brooded it was one of the only times he looked like Deacon. "Ok, I love you too, Daffy. And I didn't say you couldn't have a boyfriend. I just said he had to be my friend. I invited him to be friends with me."

"He's got you there." Joel cleared his throat to hide the fact he was holding back a laugh.

"I can live with that. That's a fair deal." Daphne agreed with him.

"Aw, my baby looks just like his daddy when he pouts." Rayna walked into the kitchen holding Deacon's hand.

"Your baby just said something that his daddy would say. He's having a hard time with me having a boyfriend. I guess he was never old enough to notice before." Daphne informed them.

"Henry, don't tell Sissy 'bout it tell Joel." Deacon instructed his son. He of course would encourage that type of behavior.

"Deacon, don't you dare encourage him. Maddie and Daphne both find him adorable and funny. If he does that to Charlie when they get older she'll knock him out." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Mom, that's not a joke. It's probably not far from the truth." Daphne tried to keep a straight face.

"Henry, don't listen to momma and Sissy. Go on and tell Joel." Deacon went on undeterred.

"Joel, you be good to my Sissy or I will have Jimmy beat you up." Jack laid down the law. It was hard to take him seriously with how cute he was.

"You've got it, Pard." Joel tried not to smile.

"Now that you've threatened Joel go into the den and check on your Uncle Nicky. I want you to make sure that he's ok." Rayna shooed him out of the room.

"Ok, momma," Jack scampered off.

"Nicky has no idea what he's in for." Deacon grabbed a cup of coffee.

"No, he doesn't, but I'm pretty sure he deserves it." Rayna retorted.

"I can't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure that he gave me moonshine last night. That's why it feels like my head is in a vise this mornin'." Joel groaned.

"I don't know where he got moonshine, but yes, he gave it to you." Rayna confirmed.

"It's times like this I'm glad I don't drink anymore. We played Austin City Limits one night it just so happened that Vince had some friends there and they had moonshine. We got so fucked up on that and apple cider that we were drunk for three days. I would like to say that we learned our lesson, but we didn't." Deacon recounted.

"I don't think they ever did learn their lesson. Those two fed off each other somethin' terrible." Rayna added.

"I love hearing dad and Vince stories. I just don't know how you put up with them, mom." Daphne laughed.

"Joel, if you ain't figured out by now Vince is my dead best friend. He was Jimmy's daddy. I didn't want you to be lost when I get to talkin'." Deacon explained.

"I knew who you were talkin' 'bout. I've got a bootleg copy of a show ya'll played in Memphis. I wager to say I'm one of the few people who know that Rebel Moon isn't just the band that plays on your albums and at your shows, but you're actually part of the band. It started out as you, Vince, Max, and Hayes. You dismantled your band and the majority of Rayna's band at one point was members of Rebel Moon." Joel rattled off the top of his head.

"I'll be damned." Deacon looked impressed.

"Joel, you just won your girlfriend's daddy over. I didn't think anyone else knew that." Rayna teased him.

"I didn't even know that." Daphne admitted.

"You'd have to be a pretty big fan of your daddy's to know that." Rayna told her.

"I have to live with him I know more than I want to already." Daphne joked.

"Alright, that'll be enough outta ya. I will say this. I like this young man. He knows his shit and he makes one badass breakfast." Deacon informed her.

"Hear that, Joel? You can't go anywhere even if you want to. My dad likes you. He typically doesn't like men when it comes to his daughters." Daphne smirked.

"That just makes the deal sweeter for me." Joel put his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

Sadie walked out to the end of the driveway wearing a pair of sunglasses and her pajamas. She was getting the paper and trying to alleviate her hangover. "Oh, dear Jesus, if you will just let this hangover go away I promise I won't drink that much again for the next six months."

She bent over and picked the paper up. She grabbed her head and groaned. She adjusted her tank top to make sure that her boobs stayed where they were supposed to.

"You never did learn how to handle your alcohol did you?" Pete loomed over her menacingly.

"Pete, what the hell are you doin' here? You can't be here I have an active restrainin' order against you." Sadie hissed through her teeth.

"Do you think I give a damn 'bout a piece of paper? Nothin' and no one is gonna keep me from away from you. I owe you one. Don't think I forgot that. It's what's kept me goin' every day for the last ten years." Pete sneered at her.

"What do you want, Pete? What is it gonna take to get you to go away and never come back? You want money? I can give you money. At this point I will gladly pay you to go away." Sadie told him.

"Oh, darlin', I don't want money from you. You took ten years from me and you shot me. I'm interested in returnin' the favor. Maybe I need to give that husband of yours some pointers on how you need to be handled. It looks like you done forgot your place." Pete grabbed her arm.

"Pete, you let go of me right now. I'm callin' the police on you. Do you really wanna risk goin' back to prison when you just got out?" Sadie narrowed her eyes at him.

"You gonna risk that with your kids inside? Do you really want them to see the police haul me off and start askin' you a bunch of questions? You looked surprised that I know all of this. You shouldn't have given your bodyguards the day off." Pete gripped her arm tighter.

"I said let go of me, Pete. Don't you dare talk about my kids. Go on and admit to stalking em make it worse." Sadie didn't back down from him.

"Make me let go of ya, Sadie. Show me that you've changed and that you can stand up to me. It wasn't just a fluke because you had a gun that night and I didn't." Pete goaded her on.

"I believe the lady said to let go of her. Why don't you try your luck with someone your own size like me?" Paul walked up behind him with a wrench gripped tightly in his hand.

Pete looked at him and scoffed. "What are you gonna do, old man? You look like a good gust of wind will knock you over. Beatin' on you would make me more pathetic than raisin' a hand to her. She at least puts up a little bit of a fight."

Paul grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the gate breaking his hold on Sadie. "Don't be so quick to dismiss me. You're a coward. You can't hit a man. That's where you and I differ. I didn't just beat on my wife and kids I never saw a man I'd back down from now or way back when. So, if you think you're froggy enough leap. My suggestion is you get the fuck out of here and don't come back."

"Relax, old man," Pete put his hands up in a sign of surrender a smirk on his face.

"Let him go, Paul." Sadie urged her father-in-law.

"You're lucky, that girl just saved your life." Paul released him reluctantly.

"I'll see you 'round, Sadie." Pete strutted off cockily.

"Sadie, you ok?" Paul put his hands on her shoulders comfortingly.

Sadie nodded her head slowly. "I'm ok, Paul. I'll be fine. What are you doin' here?"

"I left some of my tools over here when I was helpin' Rhett work on his bike and I needed to grab 'em. June's car is actin' up." Paul explained.

"Of course, come on in and get your stuff. Just please don't say anythin' 'bout this to Rhett. At least not in front of the kids. I want to shelter them from this situation as much as possible." Sadie told him.

"I can handle that." Paul agreed.

"Good, now I know that I can't let my bodyguards take any time off." Sadie groaned.

"It'll be ok. He's not gonna be back any time soon. Like I told him. He's a damn coward." Paul reassured her.

"I hope so anyway." Sadie gave him a thin smile.

* * *

"Damn my wife is hot." JC let out a low whistle when he watched Maddie climb out of a pool wearing a white bikini. He lifted his sunglasses so he could get a better look at her. They were honeymooning in Mexico.

"You like what you see, handsome?" Maddie glided over to him. She straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I more than like what I see. Here," JC kissed her and handed her a margarita. "The waiter brought your drink while you were doin' a lap in the pool."

Maddie took a long sip of her drink and then kissed him again. "I really like what I see too." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Have I told you how much I love it when you take your hat off? You have a gorgeous head of hair."

"I need a haircut. I like my hats you know that. And even more than that it keeps the sweat outta my eyes when I'm up on stage." JC slid his hands down her back and cupped her ass.

"I know that. You're handsome no matter what you have on or don't have on for that matter." Maddie looked around to make sure that no one was looking at them. She snaked her hand between them and grabbed the bulge in his swim shorts.

JC bit his lip to stifle a moan. "You better behave yourself, Mrs. Grayson. I may have to punish you later if you don't."

Maddie nibbled on his earlobe teasingly. "Is that a promise, Mr. Grayson? We haven't exactly consummated our marriage yet. I'm very much looking forward to that."

"We were both very tired last night and I wanted it to be somethin' special. I had to rest up so I can show you what you have to look forward to every day for the rest of our lives." JC swatted her ass.

"I can already feel what I have to look forward to for the rest of our lives." Maddie rubbed against him. She smirked when she felt him harden underneath her.

"Keep up with me and I'm gonna have to take you back to the room and fuck you." JC whispered seductively into her ear.

"Oh, baby, I wish you would." Maddie purred.

"Finish your drink. We don't waste alcohol." JC smirked.

"Way ahead of you, babe." Maddie tossed back her drink and grabbed his hand. "I can't wait another minute, Jimmy."

"I'm right there with ya, Cricket." JC jumped to his feet and ran off to their room with her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Like I said I have some fun stuff coming up for the next for chapters. Until next time please review.


	71. Chapter 71

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 71

"Get me up to speed as quickly as you can without skipping over anything important." Tandy helped herself to a seat in Nick's office.

"Tandy, I'm workin' right now. I don't have time to give you a report. I typed one up for ya and I emailed it to ya. I was short, sweet, and to the point. You'll appreciate that when you read it." Nick had the phone to his ear and one eye on his computer while he typed something.

"What are you working on?" Tandy asked him.

"I am currently movin' a little money 'round. Maddie and Jimmy's tour ended up costin' a little more than anticipated." Nick replied.

"Where are you moving money from?" Tandy looked confused.

"From nowhere if this shirt doesn't start to cooperate." Nick gripped the phone tightly. His jaw tensed up.

"Nicky, is it done yet?" Deacon walked in carrying his tablet.

"Nope, I'm workin' on it though. At least I'm tryin' to. I'm on the phone with the tour manager and I'm tryin' to move money from one account to another." Nick looked over at him.

"Let me give it a try. It shouldn't be that big of a deal to transfer funds from the executive discretionary fund to the tour fund." Deacon pulled up the account on his tablet. "Son of a bitch, I know what the problem is. I'm gonna kill your cousin. She changed the damn password on the executive slush fund without tellin' me. How much do they need to stay operational?"

"A quick ten grand will keep 'em up and runnin' 'til we start turnin' a profit. Which should be approximately three days. Ticket sales are very good. The next group of tickets just doesn't go on sale for three days." Nick explained to him.

"Ok, here's what we'll do. I can take ten grand outta my personal slush fund and replace it from my bank account then take it out once we turn a profit off ticket sales." Deacon retorted.

"Or you could just give me the damn tablet and let me get into the executive slush fund for you. I'm the one who picked this month's password for the account." Tandy held her hand out.

"I don't know, Deac. Do we do things the easy way 'round here?" Nick arched his eyebrow.

"Don't call me that. You'll be gettin' me confused with the boy child named after me. 'Cause I'm so damn busy let's try things the easy way for a change." Deacon handed Tandy the tablet.

Tandy pulled up a screen and logged in. "There you go. You can transfer all the funds you want to now."

"Move that money around and let Ray know that you did it. I have to head down to the Bridgestone to rehearse for the CMT awards. I'll be back 'round lunch. I need to brief Buck on a few things then. I will just leave ya'll to deal with whatever you need to hash out together." Deacon excused himself.

"Say what you will about that man, him hosting that award's show is gonna be good for the label." Tandy commented.

"He's more popular than you realize especially 'round town. He needs to be the face of the label not her. He's more likable. He has never claimed to be someone that he's not. He has no stage personality. Deacon is Deacon. Ray on the other hand has this whole stage persona and she's a bit of a diva. She comes off as aloof and a little cold at times. Even though she ain't that way. She needs to let a little bit more of her natural personality come out. Every knows that she's likeable, but it's not as apparent as it is with him." Nick put his phone back in the cradle and got the money transferred into the right account.

"I've never thought about things that way. I know that Bucky hasn't either. That's a pretty good observation." Tandy complimented him.

"His album sales actually opened stronger than the sales for her last album and he hasn't been frontin' his own band as long as she has. He's a man of the people and he doesn't compromise that." Nick pushed his chair back from the desk and crossed his legs.

"You really fit in here. I don't know how you're gonna go back and work for my daddy." Tandy chuckled.

"I don't think I'm gonna go back. Not right away, anyway. I feel at home here. I've never felt that way over at Wyatt. It's not like I can't go back anytime I want to. You or I either one is gonna run that place one day." Nick shrugged his shoulders.

"What are you gonna do if you stick around here?" Tandy didn't quite know what there was for him to do.

Before he could answer Rayna came into the office and laid two sheets of paper down on his desk. "Nicky, sign the resignation letter first and then the other one."

"What do you have him doing around here now that I'm back?" Tandy asked her sister hoping to get an answer to her question that time.

"Tandy, meet our new head of marketin'. He's got some really good ideas and he's pretty bright." Rayna answered her.

Nick signed the resignation letter and then he signed the letter accepting the position as head of marketing. "There we go."

"Thank you. Now, have either of you seen my husband? He's supposed to be on his way to the Bridgestone, but if he got sidetracked there is no tellin' where he's at." Rayna inquired.

"You just missed him. He was here to talk a little business, but he was in a hurry to get to rehearsal." Nick replied.

"Good, that's good. This week has been absolutely crazy. Daph is pickin' Maddie and Jimmy up at the airport. I have to run them both through their rehearsals for their Opry inductions next week. After next week I need a break. Goin' out on tour and finishin' my album are gonna be less stressful than everythin' I've had to do for Maddie the last few months." Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"You're a good woman, baby sister." Tandy smiled at her.

"I try to be." Rayna retorted.

* * *

"Jimmy, what in the world are you doing? Put me down before you drop me." Maddie threw her arms around JC's neck with a giggle.

"I am carryin' my bride over the threshold. You are just gonna have to deal with it. I am insulted that you think I'm gonna drop ya. You should know that I'm stronger than that." JC peppered a series of kisses along her jawline. "Daph, do me a favor and unlock the door for us."

Daphne took the keys out of his pocket. "Gladly, I will do whatever I have to do to get away from you two sooner. It was bad enough that I had to drive you here from the airport while you groped each other in the backseat of my car." She unlocked the door and threw it open. "There you go, have at it." She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, for driving us home, Daph. I know that we are a little much to handle right now. I love you for being brave enough to deal with us." Maddie blew her sister a kiss.

"Mhmm, I'm gonna take off now. If I stay around you guys too long I'll be tempted to kill you. I'm going home while mom and dad aren't there to disgust me with their PDA." Daphne blew her sister a kiss in return and got back in her car.

JC carried Maddie into the house. "Here we are, lover, home sweet home."

"Make that the last door you carry me through." Maddie put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply.

"That was the last and the most important door that I had to carry you through." JC smiled against her lips.

"What do you say that we unpack and then we work on christening the house?" Maddie suggested when he finally sat her on her feet.

"I think that sounds like a damn good idea." A look of alarm appeared on his face. "Oh shit, I forgot to get our bags. I better go track Daph down before she takes off." He bolted out the door.

"Yeah, that would be good, babe." Maddie called after him.

Daphne sat behind the wheel of her car still in their driveway with a smirk on her face when she saw JC rush out.

"Oh, good, you haven't left yet." JC stuck his head in the open window.

"I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to remember that you didn't grab your bags." Daphne retorted.

"Give me a break. I can't help it that your sister distracts me. Pop the trunk, would ya?" JC scoffed.

Daphne reached down and popped the trunk. "I personally don't get how you're so taken with my sister, but I guess I'll forgive you that one flaw."

"You adore your sister and you know it. You two are so damn close that I know you know everythin' 'bout our lives together." JC got the bags out the trunk. Or rather he got Maddie's bags. He'd only taken one bag she had taken three.

"We're sisters, of course, we tell each other everything. Get with the program, Jimmy." Daphne laughed at him.

"I'll show you get with the program. Go on and enjoy havin' the house to yourself. You know it won't be long until your parents and the tiny terrors get home and disturb your peace." JC shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Like I said before I'm going. I have no desire to sit here and watch Rayna and Deacon two point oh play out. I get enough of that at home with the parental units." Daphne arched her eyebrow.

"Ha, ha, very funny, kid. Get lost." JC winked at her.

Daphne gave two short taps on her horn before she pulled out of the driveway.

JC lugged their bags into the house with a little bit of effort. It felt like Maddie had packed her luggage full of rocks. "Babe, I really need to show you how to pack like you're in the Army. It would save us so much money on baggage fees."

"Honey, I'm not in the Army. I don't have to pack like I'm in the Army. I'm a performer. Three bags is me packing light. You know that there is normally a whole tour bus reserved for my wardrobe when I go out on the road. You knew how I was when you married me. That's all I can say about that." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"I knew how you are and I chose to marry you anyway. That says somethin' 'bout me that I'm not sure I want to think 'bout." JC teased her.

"That's enough outta you. Do you wanna stand there and lecture me about my packing skills? Or would you rather get to christening this house before my mom comes over and drags us off to rehearsal against our will?" Maddie pursed her lips in a sexy pout.

JC dropped the bags without a second thought and swung her up into his arms. "I lied before there is one last very important door that I need to carry you through."

"But, this better be the last door." Maddie scolded him playfully.

JC kissed her deeply to shut her up.

* * *

"Come on, people! Look alive, look alive!" Rhett clapped his hands loudly. He was wearing a pair of baseball pants and a yellow jersey with his number on the back. He had been enlisted to be the coach for one of the teams in the celebrity softball game. Of course, he'd gotten stuck with his family on his team.

"Christ, Rocket, be a little less enthusiastic. I get you having that competitive edge, but it's just a damn softball game." Mack looked over the top of his sunglasses at him.

"Mack, stow it. This is the part where I give the movin' speech." Rhett flipped him off.

"Can we maybe skip that part and get to the good part?" Will pleaded with him.

"Ok, let me just give you people your assignments. You don't let me have any fun at all." Rhett groaned.

"Rhett, go on and take your moment of glory. Ain't no one gonna stop ya." JC waved for him to continue.

"Thank you, Jimmy." Rhett put his sunglasses on top of his hat. "This stadium is my house. It's not just my house it's my home. No one comes into my home and disrespects it. Not even one of my teammates. I want ya'll to go out there and show that young punk that the old man actually knows what he's talkin' 'bout." He got them fired up.

"Go team!" Casey cheered sarcastically. She took a drink out of her water bottle.

Maddie took the bottle from her friend and sipped from it too. "What she said."

"I can promise you two that if that's not water in that bottle you will live to regret it. Trust me, I know from experience. If you're gonna throw alcohol down then you're gonna wanna hydrate too." Rhett told them.

"Rhett, I don't know if you wanna just have that conversation with those two. Look at Ol' Mad Max." Rayna pointed to Max.

Max was eating a hotdog and drinking a beer. He raised his plastic cup in salute. "Where I come from drinkin' beer counts a hydratin'."

"Where Rhett and I come from corn whiskey counts as a food group, but that don't mean nothin'." Deacon scoffed.

"Normally I'd call him down for tellin' tales, but this time he's tellin' the truth. Pretty much everyone in Natchez is an alcoholic." Scarlett nodded her head in agreement.

"I think that we all just need to take a second to analyze the face that Max is eatin' a hotdog right now. He's just askin' for a heart attack." Juliette pointed out.

"I did the heart attack thing. I've got the scars from the bypass to prove it. I have a new set of plumbin' in there that I need to clog up." Max belched loudly. He just so happened to be sitting right next to Gunnar and he laughed.

"Deacon, do you have any friends that aren't gross?" Gunnar asked him.

"No, not really. All my friends are outcasts. You know that better than anyone. Mad Max just may be the crudest of my friends." Deacon laughed and high fived Max.

"I'm just gonna give out your positions now." Rhett picked up his clipboard. "Mack, third base, Jimmy, first, Casey, second, Avery, you're my short stop. God help me I probably shouldn't have done this, but Max you're pitchin', Scarlett, catcher. I'm probably gonna have the weakest outfield ever seen in the history of the world for a coupe innings, but Deacon, Rayna, Maddie, Will, ya'll are my outfield to start."

"I just get to sit here and drink, right?" Daphne asked him.

"Don't get drunk. I'm gonna need you to at least make an appearance out there." Rhett rolled his eyes at her. "Well, what are ya'll waitin' on? Take the field."

"Casey, give me your water bottle." Sadie held her hand out.

"You're gonna need it. Your husband has a stick up his ass today." Casey handed it over.

"He's always this uptight on game day I'm used to it by now." Sadie made a face to show how she really felt about that.

"Just like I'm used to her attitude it comes with marriage you get used to each other." Rhett took his sunglasses off his hat and put them back on. "That reminds me, Deacon, you're really gonna wanna have shades on out there and eye black. This time of day the sun is brutal in the outfield."

"I've got it covered, little brother." Deacon assured him with a pat on the back.

"From a scale of one to ten how screwed do ya'll think we are?" Rhett asked the remaining players on his bench.

"There aren't words for how screwed we are, Rhett." Daphne laughed at him.

"I thought that might be the case. Although, they may end up surprisin' us ya never know." Rhett hung his head and sighed loudly.

"This is gonna be a shit show, babe." Sadie softened the news by kissing the top of his head.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Deacon!" Rayna yelled out and pointed to the fly ball that was headed her way.

Deacon ran over and caught it effortlessly before throwing it back in. He had to stop himself from running into his wife who was right in his way. "I'm happy to help ya out, but you could move outta the way, babe."

"I pointed out the ball to you. I did my part." Rayna smirked at him.

"You've been hittin' Jimmy's flask between innings haven't, ya?" Deacon arched his eyebrow at her.

"Babe, I have no idea how you could accuse me of such a thing." Rayna wrinkled up her nose and adjusted her hat.

"I know you better than you know yourself. So, I know the answer to that is yes." Deacon stole a kiss from her.

"Jesus, you guys, do you have to do that?" Maddie complained.

"Maddie, you know your parents and you know the answer to that." Will pointed out to her.

"I was hoping for a different answer for a change. I'm a newlywed and you don't see me acting like that with my husband." Maddie made a show of rolling her eyes.

"Madison, keep rollin' your eyes like that and they are gonna get stuck that way." Rayna scolded her.

"And the only reason you two have kept your hands off each other is because you're out here and he's in the infield." Deacon reminded her.

"That is so besides the point, dad. The point is that you and mom can't keep your damn hands to yourselves." Maddie spit back at him.

"Maddie, go play your part of the field." Rayna banished her. She loved her daughter, but she'd had about enough of her for a little while.

Will laughed to himself. Leave it to him to get stuck out in the field with all of them.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"I for one don't know how you people managed to pull off the W, but you did and I'm impressed. I had my doubts there for a little while, but ya'll pulled it together and made me look good." Rhett talked to them after the game.

"No thanks to most of the women on this team. Casey bein' the one exception. We have miss worried 'bout her perfect hair and then two miss thinks she's gonna break a nail." JC took a pull off his flask.

"James Clay, don't you dare get drunk. We have plans tonight and you need to be sober." Maddie lectured her husband.

"I won't still be drunk tonight for your Opry induction. Don't worry so much, Cricket." JC assured her.

"No, you should probably worry more 'bout his wellbein' after that crack he just made 'bout the women on this team. I ain't spreadin' tales, but Momma Ray looks like she's 'bout to throw down on him." Casey observed.

"I said you were the exception to that comment." JC shrugged his shoulders like it didn't matter.

"Ok, I say we go regroup at the ranch and sober some of you up. Then we can head over to the Opry. Maddie, you're due for sound check. Uncle Bucky can go to that with you if you want. I have to get the natives ready." Rayna suggested.

"Mom, I really need you there with me." Maddie whined.

"Well, I guess your daddy can get the kids ready." Rayna replied.

"I'll get 'em ready and get 'em there on time. I'm not your momma." Deacon winked at her.

"You better watch yourself, boy." Rayna flirted with him.

"I will not. I will have you know that I handle school drop offs every mornin'. I can get 'em all fed, dressed, and out the door quicker than you can." Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"You act like you haven't faked sleep to get outta a middle of the night feedin'." Rayna countered.

"You don't get the high horse on that one. I seem to recall that I let you sleep through many middle of the night feedings 'cause I was up anyway." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"It's not my fault that you can't sleep and I just took advantage of the situation." Rayna kissed him and smiled against his lips.

"Ok, I think that's enough outta both of ya." Max made a gagging noise.

"Shut up, Max!" Rayna and Deacon yelled at him in unison.

* * *

"What did you think, mom? How did I sound?" Maddie looked over to the side of the stage where her mother stood. She took her monitors out of her ears.

Rayna smiled widely and put both her thumbs up. "You sounded great, baby girl. I didn't hear a problem with your sound system and I really like how they have everythin' set up. Your daddy really did a great job coordinating this."

"Dad is pretty great like that. Somehow he always knows just what needs to be done." Maddie agreed.

"He's been around the block a few times he knows what he's doin'." Rayna told her.

"He's not as old or as stupid as he looks. At least that's what he's been telling me for years." Maddie let a small smile make its way to her face.

"He's pretty alright for a guy who likes to make corny daddy jokes isn't he? I think we can keep him." Rayna grinned brightly.

"He doesn't just like to make dad jokes, he loves to make dad jokes." Maddie corrected her.

Rayna checked her watch. "Come on, we have some time before you have to be in hair and makeup. I want to hear all about your first real week as a married woman."

"It's going well. I think he has resigned himself to the fact that he will be cooking all of our meals if he wants something other than takeout for now, but he doesn't seem to mind." Maddie replied.

"You are capable of cooking you just don't. With me it's hit or miss. I'm either make something really good or inedible there is no in between. Your daddy likes that he can take care of me by cooking our meals." Rayna informed her.

"Mom, dad likes to do whatever he can to take care of you. He would lick the dust off your boots with a smile on his face if you asked him to. If you say jump he is always gonna ask you how high. If you told him to jump off a bridge he'd do it. If I told Jimmy to jump off a bridge he'd take a parachute with him." Maddie hid a smirk.

"We are not that bad stop actin' like we are. He doesn't just go along with what I want as much as you think he does. He argues with me a lot more than you know. We never get into serious fights in front of you kids, but it doesn't mean we don't do our fair share of fightin'. It's the cornerstone of a healthy marriage. You can't live with someone and not have the occasional conflict. Like when he decides it's a good idea to leave your teenaged daughter alone in the house with the boy she's insanely attracted to and who is insanely attracted to her even though neither one of them realize it. That was not one of his brighter daddy moments." Rayna challenged her.

"I don't see where that was a bad thing. Jimmy and I never did anything when we thought we were just friends. Well, I take that back there was this one time we kissed while I was still with Colt, but that was it. We both said it was a mistake the moment it happened. Little did I know ten years later I'd be married to the guy." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"Of course, you don't see that as a bad thing. His little parenting blunders usually worked out in your favor." Rayna rolled her eyes and laughed.

"If he made a mistake it wasn't like I was gonna correct him. Only a fool would do something like that and my momma didn't raise a fool." Maddie retorted.

Rayna laughed harder. "Come on, you, we gotta go get you ready for your big night. If it's at all possible I think I'm more emotional now than I was on your weddin' day."

"Dad had enough emotion for you both. You had to be the strong one, so he could go to pieces." Maddie joked.

"I think your father handled himself very well. He didn't cry nearly as much as I thought he was going to. Plus, you joinin' us a member of the Opry is a really huge deal. It says a lot 'bout the talented young woman I raised. But, you're also part of your mawmaw's legacy. Maddie, you have no idea how proud she'd be of you. I've wished a lot of times that she was here, but I really wish she could be here for this. She'd be tickled. That's three generations of Jaymes women in the Opry, baby girl." Rayna put her arm around her shoulders.

"That's why you're so weird about stuff like this isn't it, mom? Mawmaw couldn't be here for you and now you wanna be here for us." Maddie leaned into her side.

"That's exactly why I hang on to ya'll so tightly and get up in your personal business. I know I annoy you, but at least I'm here to annoy you. I want you to know how proud I am of you. Your daddy is proud of you too. You've really made it, Maddie." Rayna kissed her cheek.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait I just have a lot of stuff going on right now, but I will try to get back to updating regularly. Until next time please review.


	72. Chapter 72

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Tomboy by Miranda Lambert and Heartbeat by Carrie Underwood.

* * *

Chapter 72

Deacon bowed his head and bit his lip to keep his smirk hidden. It was everything that he could do to keep his laughter in. He had the patience of a saint from years of living with Rayna, but the little boy standing in front of him was clearly her son in every way.

"Ok, Henry, you don't wanna wear the green shirt and you don't wanna wear the orange shirt. Which shirt do you wanna wear? Come to the closet and show daddy. You can deal with your momma 'cause you ain't wearin' what she wanted you to wear."

"I wanna wear my red shirt. Momma likes this shirt on me." Jack ran to the closet and picked out the shirt he wanted to wear. It was short sleeved red plaid button up.

"I approve of that shirt. If you need any help gettin' dressed let daddy know." Deacon had to excuse himself from the room before his son saw him laugh.

"Dad, you gonna be ok? Your eyes are watering." Daphne was headed out of her parents' room. She had raided her mom's makeup stash.

"I'm gonna be just fine. Do yourself a favor and have kids. It's the most rewardin' thing ever." Deacon finally broke down laughing.

"What did he do this time?" Daphne didn't even have to ask which child had him laughing.

"He was bein' a carbon copy of your momma. Neither of the shirts she left out for him suited him. I went through the entire assortment of Rayna approved shirts for nice occasions and he was havin' none of it. Finally, I had him pick out the shirt he wanted to wear and he picked the plaid shirt that makes him look like a little farm boy. He said it'd be ok 'cause momma likes that shirt on him." Deacon reported.

"It'll be ok for him anyway. Mom never gets mad at him. She will get mad at you. She knows how he is, but somehow it'll be your fault." Daphne giggled.

"Do you think you're tellin' me anythin' 'bout your mother that I don't know?" Deacon grinned.

"She goes running every time Maddie says she needs her and leaves you here to take care of the kids and whatever else. My sister is the future queen in training." Daphne rolled her eyes.

Deacon pulled her into a hug. "Me and you are big buddies. I know that your momma gets really preoccupied with Maddie, but she loves all of ya just as dearly. From the time, she found out she was pregnant with Maddie she's required a lot of attention and special care. I love your sister, she's my first baby, but she's needy as hell. She does take up a lot of your momma's time. This was somethin' that her and your momma needed to do together. Maddie, 'cause like I said she's needy and your momma is basically her manager. And your momma 'cause your mawmaw didn't get to be there to see her Opry induction. Neither of 'em mean to be the way that they are, but we love 'em anyway."

Daphne squeezed him tighter. "You really are the best daddy a girl could ask for."

Deacon kissed the top of her head. "I have some really loveable kids that make it easy for me to be so great."

"Daddy, you think we're all loveable even though we have moments when we aren't." Daphne giggled.

"I love ya'll more when you aren't perfect. You learn more from bein' flawed than you do from perfection." Deacon laid some of his Man Wisdom on her.

"Is this what everyone refers to as Deacon Man Wisdom?" Daphne asked him.

"That's what they call it. I call it parentin' by the seat of my pants." Deacon laughed.

"You're really good at it." Daphne complimented him.

"I raised you. You have to think that." Deacon teased her.

"You did a good job I'm proof of that, anyway. I'm not so sure about Maddie." Daphne teased back.

"Maddie is the problem child. We all know that." Deacon laughed.

"I better go get ready. I borrowed some of mom's makeup and God knows if I don't put it back I will never hear the end of it. According to her, her makeup costs more than my college education did." Daphne retorted.

"Your momma is a little dramatic when she wants to be." Deacon grinned.

* * *

"You better go make sure that Charlie puts on a mom approved outfit." Daphne told him.

"That is one battle that I've given up on winnin'. Charlie is gonna wear what she wants to wear whether your momma approves of it or not." Deacon shook his head.

"Mom, do you spring for the hair and makeup team every time you play the Opry?" Maddie sipped a glass of champagne.

"No, I normally do my own hair and makeup. This is a special occasion. This calls for the whole glam squad." Rayna raised her glass of champagne in salute.

"Maddie, your momma pulls out all the stops when it comes to you. You should realize that by now." Liz commented.

"I know. My poor husband has his work cut out for him both my parents spoil me." Maddie laughed softly.

"That is weird to hear her say that." Liz arched her eyebrow.

"If you think it's weird for you, you should try bein' me. I'm still a little in shock every time she refers to Jimmy in those terms." Rayna laughed.

"I'm not exactly used to it either. For the first time in forever I had to go to the store and do my own grocery shopping. Juliette is right I need an Emily. I went to the hardware store and I bought him a riding lawnmower like daddy's because our yard looked like a jungle." Maddie retorted.

"Your daddy doesn't even mow the lawn. I gave those twins and that little redneck princess their last rites. They don't have many chores durin' the school year, but I expect them to mow the lawn durin' the summer. It's not much to ask and they all like playin' 'round on the lawnmower. The only one who gives me any trouble 'bout that arrangement is Jayme." Rayna informed her.

"Jayme is just like you, Ray. If you're the Queen that boy is the Prince." Liz pointed out to her.

"Deacon made the same observation not that long ago." Rayna smirked.

"Deacon and I came to that conclusion together when Jayme was like four. It was one of the few times we agreed on anythin'." Liz chuckled.

"Wow, you and dad managed to get along for five seconds. I'm impressed." Maddie quipped.

"Rayna, I can't believe this one is old enough to be makin' her Opry debut. I remember her bein' a little bitty thing sittin' next to you while you were gettin' ready for a show. I used to paint her nails while the rest of the glam squad was workin' on you." Liz observed.

"I know, our baby grew up entirely too fast. I remember her sittin' in the chair next to mine while I was gettin' my hair and makeup done. Now she is bein' inducted into the Opry and she's a married woman." Rayna wiped a tear away.

"Aw, mom, don't cry." Maddie reached over and grabbed her hand.

"It's not just you bein' a grown woman. It's that when I was in this position I didn't have my momma here with me." Rayna talked candidly in front of Liz. She was just like family.

"If it's ok with you I'd like to cover one of mawmaw's songs tonight." Maddie looked at her mother hopefully.

"Maddie, I can't think of anythin' that would be more perfect than that. That is one of the best ideas you've ever had." Rayna smiled at her.

"Speakin' of that. Deacon kinda knew that you'd be here to walk her through this today, so he sent me this." Liz sat a picture of Virginia on the vanity.

"My husband is perfect. I don't really have anythin' else to say on the matter." Rayna gushed.

"You do have the perfect husband. I'll give him that much. He is that perfect, 'cause he terrorizes the rest of the world." Liz retorted.

"She only says that he's perfect right now. Wait until she sees how the kids are dressed when they show up." Maddie cracked.

"I don't even wanna think about what those kids are gonna show up here lookin' like." Rayna shook her head.

"I dread seeing what my husband shows up wearing." Maddie groaned.

"Jimmy is an adult he knows how to dress." Rayna assured her.

"That's what you think. Jeans, dusty boots, and a t-shirt are his chosen attire when he's not on stage." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I have one of those except he prefers flannel." Rayna laughed.

"At least yours both look semi presentable. I have a drummer at home and he's a wild card out in public in private it's worse." Liz chimed in.

"Liz, the fact that his nickname in the band is Animal should have told you somethin'." Rayna pointed out to her.

"I probably should have paid attention to that clue. I just thought it was because Billy was a drummer and not a rowdy Muppet." Liz shrugged her shoulders.

"Billy is by far better behaved than my first drummer, but he's still bad. Vince was a damn Muppet." Rayna laughed softly.

"I've always thought the world of you, but you bein' able to put up with Deacon and Vince at the same time sent your stock up in my books. I would have thrown them both out on their asses and never looked back. You're a better woman than I'll ever be." Liz replied.

"They were my family. I couldn't quit either one of 'em." Rayna admitted.

"Oh, I know." Liz nodded her head.

"So, dad put it to me this way. That I was probably needed down here and I should come." Daphne stood in the doorway.

"He was right as usual even when I don't want to admit it." Rayna smiled at her.

"Daph, is my band here yet?" Maddie asked.

"I saw Harrison when I walked in. He was playing around on his guitar." Daphne reported.

"God bless Harrison. He's one of the best guitar players in the business. He's dependable. That's why he's my bandleader. I can always count on him to keep everyone else in line." Maddie mused.

"Dad did make sure to find us both great bandleaders." Daphne agreed with her.

"He takes good care of all of us. I've had the same for nine years now and that's because you dad hired his replacement. He stands in most of the time if he's not tourin', but he got me a good one." Rayna threw her two cents in.

"So, did you guys ever decide who was gonna introduce me tonight?" Maddie asked.

"You will just have to wait and see." Rayna winked at her.

* * *

"Deacon, what in the name of God is my baby wearin'? That shirt is not on the approved list." Rayna looked on in disbelief when Deacon walked in with the kids.

"Talk to him 'bout that. He wanted to dress himself and that's what he wanted to wear." Deacon shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Deacon John, he's four. You're he adult you are supposed to put your foot down." Rayna gave him a withering look.

"He's just as damn stubborn as you are, Ray. You try arguin' with him when he gets in one of those moods." Deacon defended himself.

Rayna gave a humorless chuckle. "Don't you dare imply that I'm difficult. I know damn good and that you're worse than I am."

"Give me credit for at least gettin' three outta the four here lookin' presentable. They all look presentable as a matter of fact." Deacon crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever you say, darlin'. Whatever you say." Rayna shook her head.

"Huddle up, guys." Maddie got with her band before show time.

"Maddie! There you are." They greeted her.

"It's time for our preshow ritual." Maddie announced.

Luther the drummer took a flask out of his back pocket and unscrewed the cap and passed it to the bandleader. "Harrison, start us off."

"Jack Daniels, patron saint of whiskey and country music bands, let our licks be righteous, our vocals be killer, and our star power rock. Be with us now and at the time of our show." Harrison took a pull off the flask and past it around.

It came to Maddie last and she did a shot. "Benny, it's your turn. Redeem Harrison." She turned to her bassist.

"Alright, ya'll, bow your heads and hold hands." Benny waited for everyone to do as he'd said. "Dear, Lord Heavenly Father, we thank you for lettin' us be here together like this again gettin' ready to play another show. We thank you for all the fortune and blessings that you've bestowed upon us. We thank you for lettin' us make it this far in our journey. We thank you for lettin' us make onto the roster of the hollowed Opry. And we ask that you continue to let us prosper. In your name we pray, amen."

"Amen," Everyone chorused.

They passed the flask around the circle one more time.

"God, family, country." Maddie said.

"God, family, country." Benny nodded his head.

"Woo, we ready for this?" Harrison whooped.

"We're ready for this, Harry." Maddie laughed at his excitement.

"From Tennessee to 'Bama, from Arkansas to Maine let that wide world of country music fans know our names." Eric was the backup guitarist. This was his portion of the preshow ritual.

"I couldn't dream of stepping out on that stage and doing what I do every night without you guys. You make me the best artist that I can be." Maddie complimented them.

"Maddie, I think I speak for all of us when I say you took a bunch of ne'er do wells who wouldn't have had a shot in this business and you made us somethin'. It's been our pleasure to stand behind you and play every night. We are all so happy for ya." Harrison spoke for the band.

"Thanks, Harry. You have no idea how much that means to me." Maddie smiled.

"Rayna, something tells me that you should worry about that little circle jerk that Maddie goes through with her band before every show." Tandy whispered to her sister.

"It's harmless, Tandy. She's a grown woman. I don't interfere in her life when it comes to stuff like that. It's actually cute that they do the same thing before every show." Rayna rolled her eyes at her sister.

"You ready for this, babe?" Deacon took Rayna's hand and gripped it tightly in his.

"I'm as ready as I'm every gonna be." Rayna squeezed his hand.

"In that case let's do this thing." Deacon stepped out on the stage with her.

Rayna plastered her stage smile on her face.

"Hank Jr. said it best when he said that country music singers are a family. We don't always get along, but we always have each other's backs. Like any family, we have our in-laws and our outlaws. Some of us did our time as the embarrassin' drunken uncles before hittin' our stride. Others were destined for greatness from the beginnin'. I wouldn't know what that's like I'm one of the drunken outlaw uncles and the one standin' next to me is in the other category. The point is here at the Opry we're all on equal footin'. We're a tight knit band of ne'er do wells and misfits. This place and these people were my family long before I had one of my own." Deacon started off.

"When he's right he's right. I have to agree with his last statement and everythin' else he said. The Opry was our family back when we were just a couple of kids who wanted to sing our songs and live on love. Neither of which pays the bills very well. Bein' up on this stage brings back so many good memories. When I was inducted into the Opry twenty years ago my oldest was only five and for the sake of still havin' my middle daughter speakin' to me I won't say what I was doin' with her backstage. More than a few country music legends have passed through these hallowed halls and earned membership into this exclusive family. I'm proud to say that my momma was one of them and it was an honor for me to follow in her footsteps. There are a few members around here who are blood relate Mel and Pam Tillis Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. Then we have the husbands and wives Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood and me and Deacon. Tonight, though, we have a first. An artist who is a third-generation Opry member and both parents are members." Rayna picked up where Deacon left off.

"From a young age our newest member showed a powerful talent. As she grew she proved that she's a real triple threat. A singer, a songwriter, and a guitar player. And a real diva when she wants to be. Can't imagine where she gets that from." Deacon went on.

Rayna cocked her eyebrow and shook her head at him. "That time he wasn't right about the last part. I couldn't possibly know what he's talkin' 'bout. It has been an honor and pleasure to watch this artist grow from a baby into the amazin' young woman she is."

"We would like for you to help us in welcomin' to the Opry family, our daughter, Maddie Claybourne." They spoke together.

Maddie took the stage and hugged both of her parents tightly.

Rayna hugged her back.

Deacon kissed the top of his daughter's head.

The pair exited the stage together.

"Wow, to be inducted into the Opry is a huge deal. The fact that both my parents got to introduce me is an even bigger deal. That means more to me that I can express. I'm gonna start out tonight with a new one that was inspired someone very special to me, my baby sister." Maddie stepped up to the mic.

" _Tomboy, hail Mary. Never needs a dress to make her pretty. She's a killjoy such a let down. Daddy tried to raise a southern belle. Well, he got a Tomboy."_ She sang after her band started playing.

" _Tomboy, in between. Dirt in her nails and holes in her jeans. She'll destroy all your dreams. And ride out like a rodeo queen. Know what I mean? She's a Tomboy. Tangled hair and bruises on her knees. She wears her scars outside of her sleeves. Always has a way of sayin' no way. Some people don't get her, but that's ok. Move along, boy. She's a tomboy."_ She looked over at her youngest sister and winked.

"Did Maddie write a song about me?" Charlie asked her parents.

"She sure did, baby girl." Rayna bent down and kissed the top of her head with a smile. She knew that was Maddie's way of tryin' to make her baby sister feel special.

"Maddie, knows you well, Pistol. She got this song right." Deacon stooped down to his daughter's level.

" _Bar fly, bad Betty. Band of brothers that got her back. She's un-ladylike like a scout fire. Got her own constellation in the zodiac. Well, who can say that?"_ Maddie looked up to her baby sister for the way she was herself and didn't care what anyone else had to say. She hoped the little girl never lost that trait. It was something that she didn't possess she cared too much what other people thought.

" _A tomboy. Tangled hair and bruises on her knees. She's hard to love and hard to please. Always has a way of sayin' no way. Some people don't get her, but that's ok. Move along, boy. She's a tomboy."_ Honestly, she was one of those people that didn't get Charlie, but she loved her for it.

" _She's got a soft side she'll never let you see. With tears in her eyes she'd rather be caught dead. Sweet contradiction with no guarantees. She is what she is, you get what you get. Well, move along, boy. She's a tomboy. Or go along with it, boy. You got a tomboy."_ Maddie blew Charlie a kiss when she finished singing.

"My little Pistol is the bravest person I know. She's herself no matter what anyone thinks of it. I wish I could be that way. She's the baby girl, but when it comes to that I look up to her." Maddie spoke from the heart. "You know what? I think you need to meet my inspiration. She's gonna put me out of a job one day. Charlie, come out here for a minute." She waved her baby sister out on the stage.

"Charlie, go on, Sissy wants you." Deacon encouraged her.

Charlie walked out on stage and stood next to Maddie with her hands in her pockets.

"Charlie Claybourne, ladies and gentlemen," Maddie hugged her.

The crowd applauded enthusiastically.

"I love you, Sissy." Charlie hugged her back.

"I love you too, Pistol." Maddie whispered in her ear. She sent her back to the side of the stage.

Maddie straightened up and spoke into the mic again. "I have another new one for you. I'm proud of this song. I think it's one of the best off my new album."

" _I love it when we're at a party in a downtown crowd. Oh, but, I can't hear you call me baby with the music up loud. Red wine, good times, no I don't being with everyone else. And then there's nights like tonight that, I want you to myself."_ Maddie launched into a new song. "JC Grayson, ladies and gentlemen."

The crowd went wild when JC stepped out onto the stage with her.

" _And tonight I wanna drive so far we only find static on the radio. And we can't see those city lights and I love the way you look in a firefly glow. Sayin' everythin' without makin' a sound. A cricket choir in the background, underneath the harvest moon. Standing on your shoes in my bare feet dancin' to the rhythm of your heartbeat. Oh, and we're dancin' to the rhythm of your heartbeat."_ JC's voice blended with hers on the chorus.

" _And I wanna feel it like kick drum beatin' faster in your chest. I wanna feel you holdin' on to me and make me hold my breath. You pull me closer my head on your shoulder. Baby, we won't need a song. We'll make a fallen star wish, one more last kiss. What are we waitin' on?"_ JC's voice was peppered here and there throughout the verse to round it out.

" _And tonight I wanna drive so far we only find static on the radio. And we can't see those city lights and I love the way you look in a firefly glow. Sayin' everythin' without makin' a sound. A cricket choir in the background, underneath the harvest moon. Standing on your shoes in my bare feet dancin' to the rhythm of your heartbeat. Oh, and we're dancin' to the rhythm of your heartbeat."_

" _I wanna feel it like a kick drum beating faster in your chest."_ Maddie took that line alone.

" _And tonight I wanna drive so far we only find static on the radio. And we can't see those city lights and I love the way you look in a firefly glow. Sayin' everythin' without makin' a sound. With a river rollin' in the background, underneath the harvest moon. Standing on your shoes in my bare feet dancin' to the rhythm of your heartbeat. And we're dancin' to the rhythm of your heartbeat."_

JC leaned down and pecked Maddie's lips sweetly when the song was over.

"That song was also a special song and not just because it's the first time I got to share the stage with my husband." Maddie grinned when she pulled away from JC.

"We didn't write that song 'bout us. Well, it wasn't completely 'bout us. It may have been 'bout these two people who totally crazy in love that we know. Rivers ain't our thing." JC chimed in. He was obviously referring to Rayna and Deacon.

"Babe, what do you say we run through a bunch of our duets for them?" Maddie suggested.

"I think that can be arranged. I ain't got anythin' better to do with my night." JC winked at her.

"Oh, lord those two." Rayna snorted.

"They are tryin' to be sweet, babe. Let them be sweet." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"They are sweet, but cheesy. You keep it up and see what happens to you later." Rayna rubbed up against him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait my life is just crazy right now. Until next time please review.


	73. Chapter 73

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Girl in a Country Song by Maddie and Tae, Delta Dawn by Tanya Tucker, Two Black Cadillacs by Carrie Underwood, I'll Fly Away, How Great Thou Art, Over You by Now by Jana Kramer, and This One's for the Girls by Martina McBride.

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Chapter 73

"I am blown away by how much she reminds me of you when she gets up on that stage." Teddy walked up next to Rayna.

"She's at home on that stage. She's equal parts me and her father that way. She's a natural up there." Rayna replied with a soft smile.

"The presence she has on that stage is her own. It don't have a thing to do with us." Deacon chimed in.

"No matter who she gets it from she's remarkable up there." Teddy stared at Maddie in awe.

"She always has been remarkable. She came out of the womb that way. I should have known then that she was gonna be a force of nature." Rayna watched how effortlessly her daughter moved across the stage.

"She's certainly had the vocals for this since she was born." Teddy remarked.

"And then that one came along." Rayna pointed with her eyes to Daphne.

"I didn't do anything don't look at me like I did. I'm just getting my ears on." Daphne defended herself.

"Daph, I didn't think you were up to anythin'." Rayna corrected her.

"You need to worry about your unofficial fourth daughter. She's in her dressing room doing shots with Mack." Daphne informed her.

"Is she too drunk to go on stage?" Rayna asked.

"It's Casey. She's never too drunk to get on stage." Daphne shrugged her shoulders.

"Then, I'm not gonna go back there and do anythin' about it." Rayna retorted.

"Oh, hey, dad, I'm not ignoring you. I'm just getting ready to go out on stage with Maddie and I'm in performance mode." Daphne waved at Teddy.

"Don't worry about it, Daphne. We will have time to talk after." Teddy replied.

"Yeah, it'll be better to talk to me after when my head isn't focused on song lyrics." Daphne smiled at him.

"Daph, breathe, baby girl. You've done this hundreds of times." Deacon gave her a pep talk.

"I know I've done it hundreds of times, but I still get worked up every now and then. This is the Opry. It's a big deal." Daphne took a deep breath.

"You're a pretty big deal too, Daph." Rayna winked at her.

"Now, I'd like to welcome to the stage the person who has been by my side since the beginning. The first time I sang on the Opry stage it was with her. I wouldn't be half the artist that I am without her. Ladies and gentlemen, Daphne Claybourne." Maddie introduced her sister.

Daphne stepped out on the stage and waved to the crowd. "Maddie, the only time you say nice things like that about me is when there's an audience and you have to."

"Oh, stop it, Daph. You know that you were my first duet partner." Maddie put her arm around her shoulders.

"We gonna do this song or what?" Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Let's do this song. I know that the last few years my sister and I have gone our separate ways, but we have a new one for you." Maddie announced.

"Let's do this." Maddie agreed with her.

The guitarist and the banjo player started to the song.

" _Well, I wish had some shoes on my two bare feet. And it's gettin' kinda cold in these painted on cutoff jeans. I hate the way this bikini line chafes. Do I really have to wear it all day?"_ Maddie started the song.

" _I hear you over there on your tailgate whistlin'. Sayin', hey girl, but you know I ain't listenin'. 'Cause I got a name, and to you it ain't pretty little thing, honey, or baby. It's drivin' me red, red, red, red, redneck crazy."_ Daphne joined her for this part of the verse.

" _Bein' that girl in the country song. How in the world did it go so wrong? Like all we're good for is lookin' good for you and your friends on the weekend nothin' more. We used to get a little respect now we're lucky if we even get to climb up in your truck keep our mouth shut and ride along. And be the girl in a country song."_ They sang the chorus together.

" _Well, shakin' my money ain't ever made me a dime. And there ain't no sugar for you in this shaker of mine."_ Daphne turned her back to the crowd and did a little shimmy.

" _Tell me one more time you gotta get you some of that. Sure I'll climb on over, but you're gonna get slapped. These days it ain't easy bein' that."_ Maddie came in again.

" _Bein' that girl in the country song. How in the world did it go so wrong? Like all we're good for is lookin' good for you and your friends on the weekend nothin' more. We used to get a little respect now we're lucky if we even get to climb up in your truck keep our mouth shut and ride along. And be the girl in a country song."_

" _Aw no, Conway and George Strait never did it this way back in the old days. Aw, ya'll, we ain't a cliché. That ain't no way to treat a lady."_ Maddie and Daphne wailed the bridge.

" _Like a girl in a country song. How in the world did it go so wrong? Like all we're good for is lookin' good for you and your friends on the weekend nothin' more. We used to get a little respect now we're lucky if we even get to climb up in your truck keep our mouth shut and ride along. Down some old dirt road we don't even wanna be on. And be the girl in a country song. Aw, no."_ The sisters faced each other as the song ended.

"Daph, thank you so much for doing that with me." Maddie hugged her little sister tightly.

"Any time, Maddie, you know that." Daphne squeezed her back before she exited the stage.

* * *

"I'm about to take this show way back. This isn't one of my songs, but it is one of my mawmaw's. The boys and I practiced this one long and hard to get it just right. I could think of no better tribute to the woman who got some of my talent from." Maddie signaled for Harrison to start playing.

" _Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on? Could it be a faded rose from days gone by? And did I hear you say he was a meetin' you here today to take you to his mansion in the sky?"_ Maddie started singing. She took a deep breath before she launched into the verse. This was hard for her to do in front of her mother. She was afraid she wouldn't get it right.

" _She's forty-one and her daddy still calls her baby. All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy. 'Cause she walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand. Lookin' for a mysterious dark haired man."_ She got a little choked up.

"Deacon, I need to go save her." Rayna grabbed a mic.

"Go, babe." Deacon encouraged her.

" _In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn. Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on."_ Rayna picked up as she walked on stage and put her arm around Maddie's shoulders. _"Then a man of low degree stood by her side and promised her he'd take her for his bride."_

" _Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on? Could it be a faded rose from days gone by? And did I hear you say he was a meetin' you here today to take you to his mansion in the sky?"_ Rayna and Maddie finished together.

"Thanks for the save, mom." Maddie chuckled and wiped her eyes.

Rayna wiped her eyes too. "You're welcome. That was hard for me too. There's a reason I don't do her stuff unless I prepare myself mentally first."

"Well, we are a couple of messes." Maddie lightened the mood.

"We never claimed to be anythin', but." Rayna kissed the top of her head.

"Mom," Maddie groaned.

"Just be glad that I'm here to embarrass you." Rayna laughed and walked off the stage.

"Ok, now that I've recovered from that, let's crank this party up to eleven. To do that make some noise for my partner in crime, the Louise to my Thelma, and my soul sister, Casey Miller!" Maddie pumped the crowd up.

Casey walked out on to stage looking like a hooker as usual. "Let me tell ya'll somethin'. I'm so proud of this woman right here. When I first met her she was this wet behind the ears teenage girl who let the wrong people influence her. She also hated me 'cause she thought that I wanted her then boyfriend and current husband. Once we got that all sorted out we became best friends. I can't say that I'm a better influence, but at least my influence doesn't land her in a courtroom."

"Casey, that is still not funny." Maddie shook her head at her friend.

"You know that you can't take me anywhere. Don't shake your head at me. Let's do this song. We worked so hard on it and we killed a bottle of tequila. I've been lookin' forward to performin' it." Casey got to the point of it.

"Harrison, you heard the woman. Hit it," Maddie told her bandleader.

" _Two black Cadillacs driving in a slow parade. Headlights shining bright in the middle of the day. One is for his wife. The other for the woman who loved him at night. Two black Cadillacs meeting for the first time."_ Maddie took the first verse of the song.

" _And the preacher said he was a good man. And he his brother said he was a good friend, but the women in the two black veils didn't bother to cry. Bye-bye, bye-bye. Yeah, they took turns layin' a rose down. Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground. He's not the only one who had a secret to hide. Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye."_ Maddie and Casey faced each other and belted out the chorus.

" _Two months ago his wife called the number on his phone. Turns out he'd been lyin' to both of them for oh so long. They decided then he'd never get away with doin' this to them. Two black Cadillacs waitin' for the right time. Right time."_ Casey moved around the stage as she took her verse.

" _And the preacher said he was a good man. And he his brother said he was a good friend, but the women in the two black veils didn't bother to cry. Bye-bye, bye-bye. Yeah, they took turns layin' a rose down. Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground. He's not the only one who had a secret to hide. Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye. Yeah, yeah."_

" _It was the first and the last time they saw each other face to face."_ Maddie sang.

" _They shared a crimson smile and just walked away."_ Casey answered back.

" _And left the secret at the grave."_ They harmonized.

" _And the preacher said he was a good man. And he his brother said he was a good friend, but the women in the two black veils they didn't bother to cry. Bye-bye, bye-bye, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they took turns layin' a rose down. Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground. He's not the only one who had a secret to hide. Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."_ They finished the song and hugged.

"Casey Miller, ladies and gentlemen! This woman is the reason I need no one else to lead me into temptation. She knows the way to hell and I know the way back. It's why we make such a good team. I will forever be thankful for having her in my life. She's like a mirror in front of my face. She tells me when I'm making a mistake and she doesn't mince her words. She's like the big sister I never had and never needed for that matter for all the trouble we still get into together." Maddie spoke to the audience.

"I love you too, Maddie." Casey blew her a kiss.

"I love you more. Now, get your ass off my stage and stay outta trouble." Maddie laughed.

Casey stuck her tongue out at her as she walked away.

* * *

"I have a couple of songs that are special to me that I'm gonna close this half of my set off with. I didn't write this, but they have sentimental meaning. As any of my diehard fans know I didn't know my father's family until I was a teenager, but that doesn't mean that I don't have great memories with them. So, for this first song I'm gonna do one that I learned from my mawmaw. Her father was a Baptist preacher and she taught me one of his favorite songs. But, I'm gonna do it the right ray. Stripped down and a bluegrass version. Something you guys aren't used to hearing from me." Maddie picked up her acoustic guitar and put the strap around her neck. "My bandleader always hates this portion of my shows because I take control away from him and he never knows what I'm gonna do. To do this right I'm gonna need some help. Mawmaw, Aunt Bev, Scarlett, can ya'll come out here please?"

June, Beverly, and Scarlett joined Maddie on stage. Scarlett had her banjo with her. June stood at the front of the stage with Maddie and Beverly surprisingly went to stand with the backup singers.

"Paul has a type, doesn't he?" Rayna asked Deacon.

"He certainly does." Deacon nodded his head in agreement.

Maddie started to play and Scarlett followed suit. The fiddle player joined in. _"One bright morning when this life is over I'll fly away. To that home God's celestial shore. I'll fly away."_

" _I'll fly away, oh glory. I'll fly away in the morning. When I die hallelujah by and by. I'll fly away."_ Maddie's grandmother, aunt, and cousin joined her for that part.

" _When the shadows of this life have gone I'll fly away. Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly. I'll fly away."_ Maddie sang solo again.

" _I'll fly away, oh glory. I'll fly away in the morning. When I die hallelujah by and by. I'll fly away."_

" _Oh, how glad and happy when we meet I'll fly away. No more cold iron shackles on my feet. I'll fly away."_ June took that part.

" _I'll fly away, oh glory. I'll fly away in the morning. When I die hallelujah by and by. I'll fly away."_

" _Just a few more weary days and then I'll fly away. To the land where joys will never end. I'll fly away."_ June sang again.

" _I'll fly away, oh glory. I'll fly away in the morning. When I die hallelujah by and by. I'll fly away. I'll fly away."_

"Wow, that was amazing to be able to share that with them up here. Mawmaw is gonna stick around for this next one, but give it up for Beverly and Scarlett O'Connor." Maddie engaged the crowd. "Before we do this next one you need a little backstory. The first Saturday in December the grandkids all spend it at mawmaw's house decorating. Without fail the first Sunday in December she forces us all to go to church. She considers it doing her part to save our souls. And I do mean she forces us all to go. The only reason I never complained is because I liked the music. I wouldn't be a well-rounded country musician if I didn't have a few gospel songs in my repertoire. With that story told, let's play this song."

" _Oh, lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed."_ Maddie started.

" _Then sings my soul my savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Then sings my soul my savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art."_ June and Maddie sang together.

A haunting bluesy guitar solo started to play.

"My, Pa, Paul Claybourne." Maddie announced.

" _When Christ shall come with shout of acclimation and take me home what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow in humble adoration and then proclaim my God how great thou art."_ Maddie belted out.

" _Then sings my soul my savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Then sings my soul my savior God to thee How great thou art. How great thou art."_ Maddie and Paul sang together.

" _How great thou art. How great thou art."_ Maddie wailed.

Paul wound the rest of the band down.

"Pa, come here." Maddie waved Paul forward.

Paul stepped up next to her.

"I just wanted everyone to see where I get all my good looks and my guitar playing skills from. If any of you have been down to the Mile Marker you've probably been lucky enough to hear my Pa play a set. I come from a long line of musicians on his side." Maddie kissed Paul's cheek.

"More like a long line of losers." Paul laughed.

"That too, but that's a song for another time." Maddie laughed with him.

Teddy clapped his hands loudly when Maddie came off the stage. "Maddie, that was incredible."

"Thanks, Teddy," Maddie smiled politely.

"Baby girl, that was one of the greatest renditions of How Great Thou Art I've ever heard." Deacon praised her.

"Daddy, stop it, you're gonna embarrass me." Maddie blushed and looked down.

"Maddie, that was one of your great-grandmother's favorite gospel songs. Your daddy has heard probably every version of it." Rayna informed her.

"Damn, Cricket, that was amazin'. You damn near brought down the house." JC walked over to his wife and kissed her.

"Thank you, babe. I did better on those last two than I did on Delta Dawn." Maddie criticized herself.

"Maddie, I've heard no one that can sing that song the way your mawmaw could. I don't have the range that she had and I know that I don't do it justice. You come closer than I do. If anyone ever improves on it, it'll be Charlie. That's only because that little girl can wail. You did great." Rayna encouraged her.

"Those are some big shoes to fill, mom." Maddie agreed with her.

"A size nine stiletto. It's a good thing you and I both got our father's feet." Rayna deadpanned.

"Some of her heels were size tens." Tandy reminded her.

"I know, I could fit into some of those. I didn't get her voice though." Rayna replied.

"Rayna, you got everything else like her." Tandy pointed out.

"Maddie, ignore those two. You did fine." Bucky assured her.

"I fumbled it like I knew I would, Uncle Bucky." Maddie sighed.

"Maddie, no one is gonna criticize you for havin' human emotions. Least of all Virginia. You did great." Paul reassured her.

"Thanks, Pa, you are a lifesaver." Maddie smiled at him.

"Maddie, you're killin' it out there, girl." Juliette praised her.

"Juliette, you know how much that means to me coming from you. You are pretty important to me." Maddie replied.

"It's hard to believe that you're grown up enough for this. I remember how old you were when I met you." Juliette gushed.

"I'd say we've both grown up a lot since then." Maddie chuckled softly. "You know that you're a pretty big influence on my music, right?" She added.

"I didn't know that, but it means a lot to hear you say that." Juliette hugged her.

"Here, babe," JC handed her a bottle of water.

"Thanks, baby." Maddie unscrewed the cap and took a drink. "That's the only thing with that preshow ritual we do. The whiskey dries my mouth out."

"Ya'll ain't drinkin' the good stuff then." Paul interjected.

"Paul, don't you dare go there." June warned him.

"I'd say that the Claybourne's know a thing or two 'bout whiskey drinkin'." Scarlett pulled on her earlobe.

"Maddie is the only one so far that has been able to handle it. Well, you too, Scarlett." Deacon chimed in.

"I'll change the subject if no one else will." Maddie spoke up. "Dad, are you ready for our number together?"

"Of course, I'm ready. I've been doin' this since before you were born. I'm always ready to go out on stage." Deacon winked at her.

"You're perfect, daddy." Maddie gave him a big smile.

"You're the only woman beside my momma who has ever said that 'bout me. I really appreciate that." Deacon shook his head.

* * *

"Tonight, has been a dream. I couldn't have imagined it going any better than it has. I'm gonna cover another of my new songs before I get to my swan song. I'm gonna further frustrate my bandleader by playing guitar on this one myself." Maddie picked up her guitar.

" _Where was I when you figured out all those little doubts? Just too much to conquer. Where was I in that moment when the curtain fell and you knew that it was over? Was I smiling like a fool over morning coffee? Did you know it was a lie when you said you loved me?"_

" _I could've been two wheels up. I could've been hard-heeled strong. This could've been my last. You could've been long gone. I wouldn't be lost like this. I wouldn't be breaking down. I would've been over you by now."_ Maddie's voice was softer on this song than it normally was.

" _What's it like to hold all the cards to pull all the strings? And convince me that I'm dancing? Maybe you don't know what love really is 'cause, baby if you did. You wouldn't let it go so easy instead of wasting all that time."_

" _I could've been two wheels up. I could've been hard-heeled strong. This could've been my last. You could've been long gone. I wouldn't be lost like this. I wouldn't be breaking down. I would've been over you by now."_

" _I could've met someone new. I could've been over you. I could've been two wheels up. I could've been hard-heeled strong. This could've been my last tear. You could've been long gone. I wouldn't be lost like this. I wouldn't be breaking down. I would've been over you by now."_ Maddie ended the song on a strong note.

"Alright, I've come to my last song of the night. And I'm gonna do this in style. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the stage international recording artist with twenty CMA Awards and seven Grammys, my mother Rayna Jaymes." Maddie clapped as Rayna walked out.

"Baby girl, that was one hell of an introduction. I hope you know that you're gonna have to play guitar for this song. We all know what my skills are like when it comes to that." Rayna joked with her.

"Mom, I know that very well." Maddie laughed. "I usually make it a point not to collaborate with my parents too much, because I don't want anyone to think that I'm riding their coattails. I think I've come far enough in my career now that I don't have to worry about that anymore. My mom and I wrote this one together and that's exactly how we're gonna perform it." She started to play.

" _This is for all you girls about thirteen. High school can be so rough can be so mean. Hold on to your innocence. Stand your ground when everybody's giving in. This one's for the girls."_ Maddie opened up the song

" _This one's for all you girls about twenty-five in little apartments just tryin' to get by. Livin' on, on dreams and spaghetti-o's wonderin' where your life is gonna go."_ Rayna took the second half of the verse.

" _This one's for the girls who've ever had a broken heart. Who've wished upon a shooting star you're beautiful the way you are. This one's for the girls. Who love without holdin' back who dream with everything they have. All around the world this one's for the girls."_ Both women walked around the stage as they sang.

" _This is for all you girls about forty-two tossin' pennies into the fountain of youth. Every laugh, laugh line on your face made you who you are today."_ Rayna took that line.

" _This one's for the girls who've ever had a broken heart. Who've wished upon a shooting star you're beautiful the way you are. This one's for the girls. Who love without holdin' back who dream with everything they have. All around the world this one's for the girls."_

" _Yeah, we're all the same inside from one to ninety-nine. This one's for the girls who've ever had a broken heart. Who've wished upon a shooting star you're beautiful the way you are. This one's for the girls. Who love without holdin' back who dream with everything they have. All around the world this one's for the girls"_ They finished the song together.

"Thank you all so much for coming out to see the show tonight. God bless you and God bless the Grand Ol' Opry." Maddie cheered.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope I did the Opry induction justice. I know I used a lot of songs this chapter, but I wanted to make it good. Until next time please review.


	74. Chapter 74

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Peter Pan by Kelsea Ballerini, That's Why God Loves Cowboys by Aaron Watson, It's Different for Girls by Dierks Bentley and Elle King, and Go Rest High On That Mountain by Vince Gill.

* * *

Chapter 74

Casey made a face when she put her hand on the knob of her front door and was able to open it without having to use her key. Being a true Texan she reached into her purse and pulled out a gun. She entered her apartment warily and looked around.

"Jesus Christ, Casey! Stand down. I'm a friendly." A man with messy brown hair dressed in jeans and a leather motorcycle vest stood in front of the stove with his hands up.

"My God, Cody. You scared the shit outta me. What the hell are you doin' here?" Casey put her gun away.

"Is that anyway for you to treat the little brother you ain't seen in half a year?" Cody arched his eyebrow.

"Come here you, little bastard." Casey pulled her younger brother into a tight embrace.

"I don't know why I took the trouble to come up here and use my key to break into your house. That's no way for you to talk to me." Cody hugged her so tightly he lifted her off her feet.

"I walked into my apartment and saw a guy who looks like a Hell's Angel reject standin' in my kitchen. I think it was normal reaction under the circumstances." Casey rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a Hell's Angel. I'm an Armadillo King or at least I was. I'm not really sure." Cody shrugged his shoulders.

"See, this is why I worry. What does that mean? What kinda trouble did Clint get you into this time and how much is it gonna cost me to get you outta it?" Casey put her hands on her hips.

"Casey, I know that you and dad have a not so great history with each other, but he's still our daddy. It's not a big deal. I had to do a thing with a rival MC and it was decided it would be for the best that I come up here until things cool off some." Cody explained.

"In other words I need to get you outta Nashville. Everyone in that damn town knows that ya'll are related to me. If they come lookin' for ya this is one of the first places they'll look." Casey sighed loudly.

"Yeah, that would be right on the money." Cody nodded in agreement.

"I will see what I can do for you. It just may take a few days. I have contacts in this town, but not enough to make you disappear and keep you safe at the same time. Just let me think on it. I may go to Deacon he knows everyone." Casey ran her hand through her hair.

"Casey, you ain't gotta do that. I'm a big boy, momma, I can take care of myself." Cody attempted to bring a little levity to the situation.

"That's right I raised you and don't forget that. I sent money to your personally to keep you goin' so you didn't have to live the same nightmare that I did with Clint and Shelly. You are in the exact position that I never wanted you to be in. Neither of them are fit to be parents and now they have drug you down with them. Cody, I just want you to be safe. Clint is not a model father and he has no business havin' you do his dirty work for him." Casey banged her hand down on the counter.

"Ok, whatever you say, sister." Cody stopped trying to put up any resistance his sister would do what she wanted to do no matter what he said.

"Good. I will take care of this. Like I have taken care of everythin' else for you your whole life. Please tell me that you're just runnin' from a rival MC and not from the cops too." Casey folded her hands as if in prayer and took a deep breath.

"I'm just runnin' from another MC I ain't in any trouble with the law. These aren't the type of guys that call the police. I just have to lay low for a few months it'll blow over in a year or two tops it probably won't take that long." Cody replied.

"I'll tell you what. You go finish makin' whatever it is you stole from my fridge. I will get started on cleanin' up whatever mess you've made." Casey threw her hands up in the air.

"Your fridge was a treasure trove, but your cabinets look like ours when momma would go on a bender and daddy would forget to come home for a couple of weeks." Cody teased her.

"I need to go to the grocery store and get junk food. When I'm out on the road I don't have to do my own shoppin'. They make sure that I get fed. I don't have to worry about feedin' myself or cookin'. I like it that way." Casey retorted.

"I'm sure you do. You used to make sure that I got fed even if it meant that you had to go without. You get to be a little irresponsible now if that's what you need." Cody had a rare moment of emotional maturity.

"At least you had the decency to compliment me after you asked me for a favor without askin' me for a favor. You came to me 'cause you knew that I'd make it ok it's what I do for you. My only caveat is that you stay the hell away from Daphne. You and that girl have done enough damage to each other for one lifetime. She's happy now. She's seein' a football player. Don't you go doin' anythin' to mess that up." Casey warned him.

"Daph and I were only ever supposed to be a fun thing. We tried to make it more than that and that's why we had problems. We're both good with how we ended. There ain't gonna be any drama. I know how to handle my women." Cody assured her.

"You better keep your word on that one. I like her better than I like you. She doesn't give me half the shit that you give me." Casey pointed her finger at him.

"It's just the way I am. You know that better than anyone." Cody pointed out to her.

"I do know how you are. And, Cody, lose the MC colors." Casey told him.

* * *

"This is a good turnout don't you think?" Rayna commented to Deacon. They were standing out in the crowd as Daphne played the stage on the riverfront for CMT Fest.

"I think that she could do a lot worse. For this to be her first time on her own at one of these things it's pretty good." Deacon replied. He had Jack up on his shoulders. Deac, Jayme, and Charlie were all busy working backstage. It was a way to keep them entertained.

"It's just takin' a little bit more for her to shake bein' Maddie's little sister and our daughter than it did for Maddie." Rayna observed.

"Her first album did fairly well. She's on her second album now and people are really gonna start to take notice of her." Deacon assured her.

" _The smile, the charm, the words, the spark everything you had it. I guess I had a naïve heart, 'cause, boy I let you have it. You said I was your only. I never thought you'd leave me lonely."_ Daphne opened with one of the songs off her new album.

"In my head I know that you're right, but my heart tells me somethin' different. I guess I just don't want her to be disappointed." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"You want what's best for our little girl. You are basically both those girls' manager in addition to bein' their momma. There's no way that they won't succeed with you on their side." Deacon stole a kiss from her.

"You just keep sayin' things like that. You're gonna be in for quite a surprise this weekend at the cabin." Rayna mumbled against his lips.

" _You're just a lost boy with your head up in the clouds. You're just a lost boy, never keep your feet on the ground. Always, gonna fly away just because you know you can. You're never gonna learn there's no such thing as Neverland. You don't understand. You're never gonna grow up. You're never gonna be a man, Peter Pan."_ Daphne had plenty of men in her past that provided her with material for songwriting.

"I like the sound of that." Deacon grinned.

" _Deep down I knew that you were too good to be true, but every piece and part of me wanted to believe in you. But now it's happily never ever. I guess now I know better."_

"I knew you would." Rayna smiled back.

" _You're just a lost boy with your head up in the clouds. You're just a lost boy, never keep your feet on the ground. Always, gonna fly away just because you know you can. You're never gonna learn there's no such thing as Neverland. You don't understand. You're never gonna grow up. You're never gonna be a man, Peter Pan."_

" _You're just a lost boy, yeah, I know who you are. And you don't know who you lost, boy too busy chasing stars. And you're always gonna fly away just because you know you can. You're never gonna learn there's no such place as Neverland you don't understand. You'll never grow up. Yeah, you're never gonna be a man, Peter Pan. Never gonna be a man."_ Daphne ended the song on a powerful note.

"I'll say this for her. She knows how to write what she knows." Deacon observed.

"Three chords and the truth just like her daddy taught her." Rayna wrapped her arm around his waist.

"That's right." Deacon patted Jack's knee. "You doin' ok up there, Henry?"

"I ok, daddy." Jack chirped happily.

"Good deal, Hank." Deacon replied.

"Deacon, don't call him that." Rayna scolded him mildly.

"It's just a nickname, babe." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"A nickname that you use to piss her off." Casey walked over to them.

"Casey, you made it. You should have shown up sooner. Daph would have loved to seen you before she went on." Rayna hugged her in greeting.

"You can blame Cody for that one. He broke into my apartment last night and of course that called for the Miller siblings to have a beer soaked reunion. We woke up late." Casey replied.

"Cody, there's my surrogate son. It's damn good to see ya, boy." Deacon greeted the younger man enthusiastically. He of course had no idea what had gone on between him and Daphne.

"Deacon, it's really great to see you again." Cody returned the greeting.

"Oh, that's right, you and Deacon are kindred spirits. Do you wanna ask him for a favor or do you want me to?" Casey gave him a look.

"I'm in a little bit of trouble and I need to get outta dodge. I need a little help to get outta dodge." Cody explained.

"Let's see we have Juliette gettin' ready to go out on tour and we are gettin' ready to go on tour. I think that we can find somethin' for ya to do." Deacon clapped him on the back.

"I appreciate that." Cody nodded his head.

"Cody's here he's either runnin' from the law or the outlaws." JC whooped as he pulled the younger man into a headlock.

"Oh, God, Jimmy. Don't encourage him." Casey groaned.

"What did he do this time?" Maddie had a sympathetic look on her face.

"Possibly a felony knowin' our father the way I do. I'm gettin' him outta town." Casey explained.

"Say no more. Clint Miller would give CPS a headache." Maddie nodded in understanding.

"We don't know what those letters stand for where I'm from." Cody laughed.

"We also don't put kids in car seats or make 'em wear helmets." Casey added.

"Do I need to head down to the Lone Star State and kick some ass for ya?" JC offered.

"No!" Casey glared at him for even suggesting such a thing.

"I would love to take you up on that offer, but my sister doesn't think it's a good idea, so we better not." Cody sighed.

"Older sisters all they're good for is messin' up your good time." JC intoned solemnly.

"And yet he wouldn't let either of his sisters hear him say that. Mostly because Hailey would kick his ass and Allie would talk her into taking his money and hiding it in an offshore account. Because my husband has his Sissy take care of his money." Maddie teased.

"I know that you ain't talkin' 'bout anyone havin' someone else manage their money. At least it's my sister and not my momma and daddy like my wife." JC countered.

"That's just proof that neither of you has ever had to worry 'bout money. You know all about my bankin' system." Casey rolled her eyes at them.

"And I'm tellin' ya that in event of a house fire you're gonna regret keepin' your money under your mattress." JC teased her.

"I have a delinquent brother who comes into my apartment at random times. And my father can break into anythin', he has my address and it's a real concern. I can't keep my money anywhere that is easily accessible." Casey corrected him.

"Jimmy, are you ready for tonight?" Rayna asked before Casey could divulge where she kept her money.

"I'm ready as I can be. I'm pretty excited 'bout this." JC replied.

"You should be. If it goes as well as Maddie's went last night then your album sales are gonna go through the roof." Rayna replied.

"I hope I do as well as she did. She brought the damn house down. I'm damn proud of my baby." JC crossed his arms.

"Now, you two are startin' to sound like the Husbands. Actually, ya'll are worse than them." Casey rolled her eyes.

"Who in the world are the Husbands?" Deacon looked confused.

"Babe, don't be stupid. They're talkin' 'bout Will and Mack. If anyone else talked 'bout them like that they would kick their asses." Rayna shook her head.

"They watched a damn documentary on penguins and started touchin' foreheads. Will's a cowboy and Mack is a hockey player it's how they show affection without bein' all fruity. And they said that, not me." JC laughed.

"That's adorable and totally somethin' that those two would do." Rayna retorted.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I've been given the task of introducin' a man who is my best friend. He's more than that he's a brother to me. I recently had the pleasure of standin' up for him at his weddin'. Help me welcome to the stage triple platinum Grammy winnin' recordin' artist, Mr. James Clay Grayson." Will introduced JC on the Opry stage.

JC walked out with his acoustic guitar strapped to him. He was wearing a blue checkered shirt, jeans, boots, and his usual cowboy hat. "Thank you for that, brother. I really appreciate it." He grasped Will's hand and hugged him.

"It was my pleasure." Will clapped him on the back enthusiastically. He left the stage quickly.

"Before I get started I wanna thank ya'll for comin' out tonight. I imagine if you paid the price of admission tonight that you're a pretty big fan of mine. For those of you who are new or don't know this I'm named after two country music legends. Since I decided to follow this path, I guess it was kinda inevitable that I would end up here. James comes from my godmother and Clay for my godfather. The fact that they are my mother and father-in-law now isn't too Arkansas." JC opened with a joke. "Tonight, I wanna start out with a new song. My boss insisted that I explore my softer side on this album. If you don't like it you can blame her for that."

He started to play the opening of his song. Instead of the normal bro country this one had more of a Texas feel to it. _"He wanted someone who loves the land as much as he does. Someone who knows the blessin' of a good hard rain. Somebody simple and strong that he knows he can count on. Soft as the wind and bold enough to bless his name."_

" _That's why God loves cowboys. I believe there's a place in his heart. 'Cause when the herd needs tendin' the fences needs mendin' he knows they'll work hard. On his great big ranch called life 'cause they love and take care of all its creations. From the horses they ride to those broken hearted honky tonk angels. Ooh, that's why God loves cowboys."_ He crooned his mouth close to the mic.

" _He knew they'd need room to breathe and freedom, so he gave them Texas and those big Montana skies. He was there when he heard those prayers comin' from Cheyenne right beside that young man on his last ride."_ JC managed not only to go back to old school country, but he had incorporated the western theme into this song as well.

" _That's why God loves cowboys. I believe there's a place in his heart. 'Cause when the herd needs tendin' the fences needs mendin' he knows they'll work hard. On his great big ranch called life 'cause they love and take care of all its creations. From the horses they ride to those broken hearted honky tonk angels. Ooh, that's why God loves cowboys."_

" _Ooh, those cold nights get lonely. He needs more than just a good fire to keep him warm. Ooh, there's nothin' more holy than the love of a woman to weather life's storm."_ He winked at Maddie after he sang that line.

Maddie blew him a kiss.

" _That's why God loves cowgirls I believe there's a place in his heart. 'Cause when the herd needs tendin' the fences needs mendin' he knows they'll work hard. On his great big ranch called life 'cause they love and take care of all its creations from the horses they ride to those broken hearted honky tonk heroes. Ooh, that's why God loves cowgirls. Ooh, that's why God loves cowboys."_ JC tipped his hat to the crowd.

"Daph, you got your ears on? I looked over his set list and you're up." Maddie questioned her baby sister.

"I got them. I'm ready for this." Daphne put her ear pieces in.

"Break a leg." Maddie encouraged her.

"I've got a new duet for ya'll. I'm afraid that you might be a little disappointed 'cause it ain't with my normal duet partner, but we will work up to that. Ya'll help me welcome to the stage my brand-new baby sister, Daphne Claybourne." JC waved Daphne out.

Daphne walked out and waved shyly. "JC, thank you for the kind words. I love you, bub." She kissed his cheek.

"You're very welcome. You ready for this?" JC asked her.

"I'm more than ready. We can start on your count." Daphne replied.

JC strummed his guitar. _"She don't throw any t-shirt on and walk to a bar. She don't text her friends and say I've gotta get laid tonight. She don't say that's ok I never loved him anyway. She don't scroll through her phone just lookin' for a band aid."_

" _It's different for girls when their hearts get broke. They can't tape it back together with a whiskey and coke. They don't take someone home and act like it's nothin'. They can't just switch it off every time they feel somethin'. A guy gets drunk with his friends and he might hook up. Fast forward through the pain pushin' back when the tears come up. But it's different for girls."_ Daphne joined on the chorus. They had written this song together before she had gotten with Joel.

" _She don't sleep all day and leave the house a wreck. She don't have the luxury of to let herself go. She won't call just to cuss find a walk she can punch. When the going gets tough, yeah, the guys they can just act tough."_ Daphne sang the second verse.

" _It's different for girls when their hearts get broke. They can't tape it back together with a whiskey and coke. They don't take someone home and act like it's nothin'. They can't just switch it off every time they feel somethin'. A guy gets drunk with his friends and he might hook up. Fast forward through the pain pushin' back when the tears come up. But it's different for girls."_

" _Oh, it's different for girls. Nobody said it was fair. When love disappears they can't pretend it was never there."_ JC sang the bridge alone.

" _The guy gets drunk with his friends and he might hook up. Fast forward through the pain and pushin' back when the tears come up. When the goin' gets tough yeah, the guys they can just act tough."_

" _So tough, it's different for girls."_ JC sang.

" _It's different for girls."_ Daphne got the last line.

JC made a show of clapping his hands. "I had the good fortune of marryin' into a very talented family. It was an honor to get to play that song with Daphne. I'm thankful that she even agreed to write with me. Her sister and I weren't even officially back together when we wrote that song. We just thought that it needed to be highlighted that breakups are different for girls and guys."

"Jimmy, you're gonna embarrass me. If anything, I'm the one who was lucky that he wanted to write with me. I'm a new solo artist. He's a big deal. I mean I don't mean to carry tales, but there have been talks that he's in line to be the next Luke Wheeler. It's a good thing he's my big brother and he has to do nice things for me now." Daphne kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, you just tell that football player to treat you right or my boot is gonna meet his ass." JC grumbled playfully.

"Whatever you say, Jimmy." Daphne laughed at him.

"I have another little bit of trivia for my fans. Anyone who is a big fan of my fathers-in-law knows that the band that backs him on tour and on all his albums except for About a Girl is called rebel moon. My father was one of the foundin' members of that band. I got many of my skills as a singer, a song writer, a guitarist, and a drummer from him. Sadly, he was killed in a car accident at twenty-eight and never got the chance to reach his potential. I was two when he died and I don't really know Vince outside of recordings and stories that the people who knew him best tell. Tonight, is my night and I wanted to take this opportunity to honor him. I like to think of myself of the man he wanted to be, but he never got the chance to turn into. This next song was a difficult one to write. There were a lot of tears and laughs while we came up with it. So, please help me welcome to the stage as my special guests the two people who knew he best in this world, Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne." JC gave a moving speech.

Rayna and Deacon flanked him on either side. Deacon picked out a tune on his electric guitar.

" _I know your life on Earth was troubled. And only you could know the pain. You weren't afraid to face the devil. You were no stranger to the rain."_ JC took the lead.

" _Go rest high on that mountain. Son, your work on Earth is done. Go to heaven a shoutin' love for the father and the son."_ Rayna and Deacon both came in with him.

" _Oh, how we cried the day you left us. We gathered 'round your grave to grieve. Wish I could see the angels' faces when they hear your sweet voice sing."_ JC again took the verse.

" _Go rest high on that mountain. Son, your work on Earth is done. Go to heaven a shoutin' love for the father and the son._

Deacon played a haunting guitar solo here. He'd never played harder in his life. This was for Vince, his best friend and his brother he wanted to do it justice.

" _Go rest high on that mountain. Son, your work on Earth is done. Go to heaven a shoutin' love for the father and son. Go to heaven a shoutin' love for the father and the son."_ The trio all sang their hearts out.

"Whew, that was more emotional than I thought it was gonna be and I once wrote a song from my father's perspective 'bout my mother. I wanna thank Rayna so much for helpin' me write that and Deacon for comin' up with the melody. I was an absolute mess durin' the whole process and I wouldn't have been able to get through it without them. I love ya'll so much, Momma Ray and Pop. You are the best in-laws that a guy could ask for." JC wiped tears away from his eyes.

Rayna pulled him into a huge hug. "I love you too, sweetie."

Deacon just squeezed his shoulder because he didn't trust himself to speak. "I am just glad that I was able to do that for Vinny. He was my best friend and I see so much of him in Jimmy. I am proud to call this man my son." He finally said a few words.

"Deacon, you ok?" Rayna asked him once they stepped off stage.

"I'll be ok, babe." Deacon nodded his head.

"I know how hard that was for you. If it was hard on me I can't imagine what it felt like for you." Rayna put her arm around his waist.

"Babe, that wasn't just hard that was impossible. I loved that man so damn much. I still love him. It was so damn special." Deacon cleared his throat.

"I know, darlin'. Vince meant a lot to me too. Not as much as he meant to you, but he was like a big brother to me." Rayna peppered kissed along his jawline.

"Yeah, this weekend ain't gonna come fast enough for me." Deacon groaned in the back of his throat.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I've got a couple more songs coming to you from JC and then we are gonna get into the awards show. After that comes some good stuff from Rayna and Deacon. I'm still torn about giving them another baby. I want to, but then again I don't. Another question for you do you guys want me to start tagging JC as Jimmy or leave his name as it is? This story may end up running longer than 100 chapters if I get into all the stuff I want to get into I hope that's ok. I'm so glad to hear your thoughts and feedback. Until next time please review.


	75. Chapter 75

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles, Meanwhile Back at Mama's by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Texas Boys by Aaron Watson, Pat Green, and Josh Abbott, Three Feet Of Water by Brantley Gilbert, and Renegade Runway by Carrie Underwood.

* * *

Chapter 75

"Maddie, did he purposely do that to make my mascara run?" Hailey wiped her eyes.

"It wasn't just him my mother was into it too." Maddie was careful not to mess up her makeup when she wiped her eyes.

"He has no idea how much he looks like the daddy who made up on that stage." Hailey replied.

"He moves like the daddy who raised him, though. Like he spent the last seventy years of his life on a horse and that's the only way he knows how to dance." Dixie chimed in.

"Darlin', my movement or lack there of didn't stop me from gettin' ya pregnant four times. And I've never heard ya complain." Big Jack stared her down.

"Things that no child ever wants to hear." Allie groaned loudly.

"You think that's bad you should hear and see the way my parents are with each other." Maddie scoffed.

"We are friends with your parents we know how they are. We are used to them. We ignore them and it's ok." Hailey waved off her sister-in-law's concern.

"Exactly, you're their friends not their children. From this side of the table is embarrassing." Daphne backed Maddie up.

"Speaking of them being embarrassing. Did you turn them down on watching the kids tomorrow night after the awards show? They asked me and I couldn't turn them down. Mawmaw can't handle those four. Plus, those four are handy I'm gonna have Deac weed out the flower beds and Charlie help him. They are both little work horses. Jack will help Jimmy and if I can get Jayme to do anything I'll be happy. Dad says that mom got two daughters and a son like her and he got two sons and a daughter like him." Maddie asked.

"That sounds about right. And yeah they did ask me, but I'm kinda busy tomorrow night. You know I'm working on getting on tour and Joel will start training camp soon, so this is the only time we're gonna have together. Sorry." Daphne replied.

"Don't apologize. I understand completely. You don't have to be sorry for taking time with your boyfriend. I've got the kids. Trust me, it's my turn. I owe mom and dad after everything they've done for me lately. God knows they probably need the time together to become less embarrassing." Maddie reassured her.

"We can only hope." Daphne agreed.

"I'd like to continue my tribute to my father. I'm gonna play a song that's was very special to him. To do this properly I'm gonna need his best friends for this Hailstorm Hayes Abernathy, Mad Max Waterson, and Freakin' Deacon Claybourne." JC clapped his hands.

"Vinny was like a brother to all of us. So, it's an honor to get to stand here on the stage with his pride and joy who I'm also lucky enough to call my son. It's been a long time since we've done this one. And I'm happy that we get to do this with Jimmy. We ready to do this?" Deacon spoke into the mic.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, we ain't just givin' this boy a free pass. If he wants to do this song he's gotta earn it." Max held his hand up to stop them.

"Mad Max is right. If he wants to be one of us he's gotta howl at the moon." Hayes agreed with Max.

"You heard 'em, Jimmy. Let's howl at the moon." Deacon laughed and shook his head. "We go on three. Three, two, one."

They threw their heads back and howled.

" _There are stars in the southern sky southward as you go. There is moonlight and moss in the trees down the seven bridges road."_ The guys sang without music.

They started to play their instruments.

" _Now I have loved you like a baby. Like some lonesome child. And I have loved you in a tame way. And I have loved wild."_

"Jimmy is the perfect one to round out their quartet." Rayna commented.

"He certainly sounds like he fits right in with them." Amy nodded her head in agreement.

" _Sometimes there's a part of me has to turn from here and go."_ JC and Deacon sang together.

" _Runnin' like a child from these warm stars down the seven bridges road."_ Hayes and Max sang.

" _There are stars in the southern sky and if ever you decide you should go. There is a taste of thyme sweetened honey down the seven bridges road."_ They all finished together.

Deacon cleared his throat and put his arm around JC. The other two guys joined in.

"Alright, that was amazin'. Now, for the part of the night I'm sure that you've all been waitin' for. Welcome to the stage my favorite duet partner and my better half, Maddie Claybourne." JC waved Maddie out.

Maddie walked out and pecked his lips. "You are just angling to stay out of the doghouse."

"I have to live with you and be on a bus with you all summer. I wanna keep ya happy, baby." JC pointed out to her.

"How about you start this song before you get into trouble?" Maddie suggested teasingly.

"I think I can do that." JC started to strum his guitar. _"Runnin' 'round in this new truck bank let's me borrow from month to month. Runnin' outta credit and find a little Cash on the radio. Standin' still they're blowin' past numbers on cars goin' Nascar fast. What I wouldn't give for a slow down, don't you know? 'Cause where I come from only the horses run. When the day is done we take it easy."_

" _Meanwhile back at momma's the porch lights on come on if you wanna. Suppers on the stove and beer's in the fridge red sun sinkin' down low on the ridge. Games on the tube and daddy smokes cigarettes whiskey keeps his whistle wet. Funny the things you thought you'd never miss in a world gone crazy as this."_ He sang alone this time. He'd written this song based on his childhood.

" _Well, I found a girl and we don't fit in here. Talk about how hard it is to breathe here. Even with the windows down can't catch a southern breeze here. One of these days gonna pack it up and leave here."_ He winked at Maddie.

" _Meanwhile back at momma's the porch lights on come on if you wanna. Suppers on the stove and beer's in the fridge red sun sinkin' down low on the ridge. Games on the tube and daddy smokes cigarettes whiskey keeps his whistle wet. Funny the things you thought you'd never miss in a world gone crazy as this."_ Maddie joined him this time.

" _Oh, I miss yeah, a little dirt on the road. I miss corn growin' in a row. I miss bein' somebody everybody knows there everybody knows there everybody knows everybody. I miss those small-town roots walkin' around in muddy boots. The sound of rain on an old tin roof."_ JC and Maddie stared into each other's eyes as they sang. It was like the rest of the world didn't exist to them right now.

" _It's time we head on back."_ JC crooned.

"' _Cause meanwhile back at momma's the for sale sign's gone up and I'm gonna dump this truck and the little I got on a loan to own and a three acre lot. Put supper on the stove and beer in fridge. Goin' for broke, yeah, we're gonna be rich. Watch the sun settin' on the ridge. Baby tell me what you think about this. Me and you back at momma's. Yeah, me and you back at momma's."_

JC and Maddie kissed once they were finished singing.

"For this next one I'd like to bring my boys out. Will, Gunnar, come on, ya'll." JC called them out on stage.

They started playing right away.

" _Now, first of all I gotta warn yo before you fall in love with me. This here kickin' out the footlights ain't all it's cracked up to be."_ JC sang first.

" _Well, cheap hotels and truck stop coffee its what makes the wheels go 'round."_ Will picked up.

" _I know exactly what you're thinkin', girl. God only knows if I'll ever settle down."_ Gunnar added.

" _So, if you think you can take it. And enjoy the nonsense and the noise. Girl, it ain't easy holdin' on to hard livin' honky tonkin' Texas boys."_ They sang in unison.

" _Just ask the women who have been there. Who've lived and breathed that crazy life."_ Will led off that time.

" _Ask sweet Jessie 'bout old Wayland. Ask old Willie's four ex-wives."_ Gunnar sand.

" _Someday you're gonna want a family. Some day you may be wantin' more. Than a king-sized bed that's always lonely. Whenever I walk out your door."_ JC finished the verse.

" _But, if you think you can take it. And enjoy the nonsense and the noise. Girl, it ain't easy holdin' on to hard livin' honky tonkin' Texas boys."_

" _There's somethin' 'bout them neon signs."_ Will sang again.

" _I'm like a month drawn to a flame."_ Gunnar crooned.

" _Blame on it the smoky bar or cryin' steel guitar."_ JC added.

" _Those pretty girls screamin' my name."_ The trio wailed.

" _So, if you think you can take it. And enjoy the nonsense and the noise. Girl, it ain't easy holdin' on to hard livin' honky tonkin' Texas boys. Girl, it ain't easy holdin' on to hard livin' honky tonkin' Texas Boys."_ When they finished the song each of the men shotgunned a beer.

* * *

"Hey, babe, you about ready?" Rayna sat at her vanity putting her earrings in. She was already dressed to go to the CMT Awards. She had on a pair of jeans and a peasant shirt.

"Honey, unlike you I'm always ready to go." Deacon was dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a dress shirt.

"Don't you get sassy with me I haven't gone away with you yet. I can still stay here and take a long bubble bath while our oldest takes care of her brothers and sister for the night." Rayna arched an eyebrow at him.

"There is no need for you to get mean with me, woman." Deacon laughed at her.

"Let's get goin' before we're late. You are the host you can't be late." Rayna teased him.

"We better get a move on then." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

"I'll call the limo and make sure that they are on the way." Rayna picked up her cell.

The red carpet for the CMT Awards wasn't as formal as the red carpet for every other award show. This one was more casual.

"Here we have on the red carpet for the first time as husband and wife, JC Grayson and Maddie Claybourne." One of correspondents stuck a mic in JC's face.

"Well, we are happy to be here." JC put on his best charm offensive.

"We are happy to be here together." Maddie added.

"Given that this time last year we were broken up this is a vast improvement." JC laughed.

"You two have a big tour coming up. And as I understand you both have albums waiting to drop. There is quite a bit of buzz around the two of you. Any speculation as to who will come out on top?" The correspondent asked.

"I will say this we have made our label very happy. There's really no comparison between the two of us. I'm more outlaw country and Maddie is more pop country." JC fielded that question.

"What he said. He's right for once and I don't say that often. Our genres don't really cross over unless we're doing a duet. He dominates his genre and I dominate mine. Well I try to dominate mine. I have stiff competition from Juliette Barnes. She's my mentor and one of my closest friends. We compete, but only between the two of us. The competition is more something that the radio stations pick up we are all family." Maddie tacked on.

"You two are very mature for artists that started out in the business as young as you did." The correspondent remarked.

"We've had great influences. Our label is absolutely a family in every sense of the word. My boss is my mother-in-law. The head of artist relations is my father-in-law. Even before I married Maddie though I felt like I was a part of a family." JC replied.

"Again, he's right on the money. Highway Sixty-Five is my birthright. I have two living legends for parents. I'm lucky enough to have my mom for a manager. They both make sure to keep me humble. I don't think either of us would be the artists that we are today without them." Maddie spoke sagely.

"Maddie, what do you say to the critics that say the only reason you've gotten as far as you have is because of who your parents are?"

"I say that's a bigger hindrance than a help. Everyone thinks that I've had things handed to me, but I've had to work twice as hard for it. It's made me a better artist for sure. I don't mind the comparison to my parents so much. I get compared to my mom a lot. We are different artists, but I don't mind hearing that I got part of what makes her so great. If someone really wants to complement me they can compare my guitar playing to my dad's. If I'm lucky he'll lose a step within the next ten years and I'll have some time to be the go to guitar player in this town before one of my brothers or sister steals that title from me." Maddie made a joke out of it.

"Speaking of your siblings here comes one of them now." The correspondent gestured to Daphne who walked up with Joel on her arm.

"That's another comparison that gets made. She has it doubly bad she's got me and the parents to live up to." Maddie laughed.

"There's one of the hottest celebrity couples."

"I don't know 'bout all that." Joel looked down and blushed.

"He's very nice to look at I'll give you that." Daphne laughed.

"I think you might even out rank your sister and her husband and your parents."

"Maddie and Jimmy have been together forever." Daphne explained.

"If their wedding was the event of the decade yours will be the event of the century."

"We are barely datin'. We ain't there yet." Joel mumbled.

"People already love you two together. Can we get a picture with the four of you together?"

"Of course," Maddie put her arm around her sister and posed.

* * *

Deacon stood backstage and took a deep breath. He watched as his intro video played.

 _Deacon sat behind his desk at Highway 65. Rayna walked in and perched herself on the edge of his desk. "Babe, you need to get goin'. You have to be down at the CMT offices soon."_

" _Yeah, I'm gettin' ready to head out now_." Deacon replied. He got up from his desk and put his messenger bag over his shoulders.

" _I'll see you soon, then?" Rayna replied._

 _Deacon pecked her lips gently. "I'll see, ya, soon." He walked out to the parking lot and started making his way to his motorcycle._

" _Hey, dad, before you head out, what are the chances of me getting in on this award's show?" Maddie approached him._

" _Really, Maddie?" Deacon laughed._

" _Yeah, really, dad, I was hoping to get in on this." Maddie retorted._

" _I can't help you there. You need to talk to the person in charge." Deacon shrugged his shoulders helplessly._

" _Alright, go on and go. I know that you're on a tight schedule." Maddie relented._

 _Deacon got on his bike and rode it across town to the CMT offices. Before he could even think about going inside he was met by Juliette._

" _Hey, Deacon," Juliette smiled brightly._

" _Juliette, the answer is not only no, but heck no." Deacon shot her down before she could say anything._

" _Deacon, don't be like that." Juliette batted her eyelashes at him._

" _Juliette, I know you. When you look at me like that you want somethin'. I've been an executive at Highway Sixty-five long enough to know that when you try to act innocent that you want somethin'." Deacon arched his eyebrow at her._

" _Ok, fine," Juliette heaved a sigh._

 _Deacon walked into the CMT offices. After a brief meeting with the execs he went back to the parking lot and rode his motorcycle over to the Bridgestone._

Deacon revved the engine on his motorcycle and rode it out onto the stage. He got off the bike and sat down at the piano and started to play.

" _Got a whole lotta years and a whole lotta pain. And it all got me here where river meets the clay. Rewindin' through my past tryin to find some good. But, I can't seem to see what momma always could."_

" _And that sun is shinin' down on all my darker days. They're comin' to me now. As I hear the preacher say. In the name of the son and the father. Can I really leave it all in three feet of water."_

Deacon continued to play and violins came in to back him up. _"I can't unbreak the laws and straightened out the rules I've bent. Take the broken dreams and hearts and my 'em whole once again. All the messes that I've been carryin' around all the messes that I've made. In a few more steps from now they'll all be washed away._

" _And that sun is shinin' down on all my darker days. They're comin' to me now. As I hear the preacher say. In the name of the son and the father. Who've thought that I could leave it all in three feet of water?"_ He'd wrote this song about his drinking. It was this albums answer to Just As I Am.

" _Washin' over me Amazin' Grace the choir sings and I'll know what mercy's all about. And that sun is shinin' down and all my darker days. They're nowhere to be found. All that preacher had to say. Was in the name of the son and the father who'd have thought that I could leave it all? You took my cross so I could leave it all in three feet of water. Mmm, in three feet of water. Mmm. So, it's that simple, huh?"_

Deacon got up from the piano and went to the mic that was in the middle of the stage. "We've got a really great show in store for ya'll tonight. If you like country music and you're in for more of what you just heard then you're in luck. We have a whole lot more that in store for ya. If ya'll are anythin' like me then you're surprised that I even got asked to host this awards' show. I was just as shocked as any of ya'll when I got asked. The thing of it is I have a lot of friends in this town and I asked them to come out tonight to help me. We've got one hell of a show in store for ya, just stick with me and I won't steer you wrong. Despite what my wife may think 'bout my ability to keep it together."

Mack walked out on the stage wearing his uniform. "Put me in, Coach, I'm ready." His helmet rested on the back of his head.

"Shooter, what the hell are you doin' out here?" Deacon asked him.

"This is my house, Coach. I gotta protect my house." Mack flexed his muscles and gritted his teeth.

"Shooter, you need to stand down, son. This isn't hockey time. We are here for a totally different reason." Deacon laughed at him.

"Whatever you say, Coach. I'm ready, willing, and able." Mack growled.

"Shooter, go head to the showers." Deacon clapped him on the back.

"By showers you mean head out to my assignment." Mack stripped out of his uniform to reveal a pair of jeans and a checkered shirt.

"There's my first man on the street, Shooter McCoy." Deacon cheered. "Let's got to my next man down on Cumberland Memorial Stadium, my baby brother, Rhett Claybourne."

"Hey, I'm Rhett Claybourne down here at the stadium with some of our performers for the night." Rhett saluted the camera.

"And my man on the streets, my potential future son-in-law, Joel Preston." Deacon cheered.

"Hey, ya'll, I'm Joel Preston and I'm out here in the trenches with your performers on the river front, right in front of my home at Nissan Stadium." Joel whooped.

"Let's kick this off with our first performer for the night and one of my personal mentees, Casey Miller." Deacon called Casey out on stage.

" _Looks, like an angel so picturesque. Like she walked right out of the wild, wild west. She's a devil in a satin dress. You don't even know her hair trigger's aimin' right at your chest. By the time you figure out that she gave you the runaround. You won't know where she's at._

 _She's a tumbleweed blowin' in the wind come sundown."_ Casey opened her song. The fog machines were going to make her entrance more mysterious.

" _Call a girl like that renegade runaway. She's a sure shot, knock the ask off a smokin' cigarette. Yeah, that pretty face. Love you, leave you, play you like a heartbreak bandit. She's an outlaw, a quick draw. She'll take it all, so don't you fall. For that renegade runaway, runaway, runaway, runaway."_

" _You'll see her name alive or dead. Yeah, but take her either way 'cause she's wanted. If I were you, I'd place my bet that she's ridin' off into the sunset. With her long hair flyin' 'cross the desert dirt. Let me tell you, boy, you're never gonna catch her."_ Casey danced around the stage.

" _Renegade runaway. She's a sure shot, know the ask off a smokin' cigarette. Yeah, that pretty face. Love you, leave you, play you like a heartbreak bandit. She's an outlaw, a quick draw. She'll take it all, so don't you fall. For that renegade runaway, runaway, runaway, runaway. Oh, baby, run away."_

" _Young gunslinger makin' new amends. Tough as nails under that corset. Call her renegade runaway, runaway, runaway. Yeah, that pretty face. Love you, leave you like a heartsick bandit. She's an outlaw, a quick draw. She'll take it all, so, don't you fall. For that renegade. Runaway, runaway, runaway, runaway. Yeah, you better, run away, run away, run away, run away. She's a renegade."_ Casey wailed.

Big fireballs shot up into the air and plumes of smoke filled the arena after she was finished.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Casey Miller!" Deacon yelled and clapped his hands as loudly as possible.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry about all the song lyrics, but I spend a lot of time picking just the right songs to fit with these characters. I only do it when the storyline calls for a bunch of songs to be used like concerts. As for characters that aren't on the show, this is a Rayna and Deacon story, but without other characters this story would get boring and I would get bored. A Maddie and Jimmy baby is happening no matter what. I'm still on the fence about another Rayna and Deacon baby, but it just seems like it could be so promising. A Tandy and Bucky baby is also happening. I know how a mother and daughter pregnancy at the same time can look, but I have an aunt that's younger than my brother, so it's something that's normal for me. I would love for you guys to weigh in here. Until next time please review.


	76. Chapter 76

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: For Her by Chris Lane, The Prayer by Aaron Watson, Holding Onto You by Miranda Lambert, and speak to a girl by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

* * *

Chapter 76

"Like I said we have a great show in store for you tonight. Lookin' 'round I had to check my phone and make sure that I was in the fight year. It looks like the styles from the nineties have come back in fashion. I can attest to the from the fog of hairspray that was in my bathroom before I came here. She had to start gettin' ready five hours early instead of three hours early." Deacon joked.

The crowd erupted with laughter. Rayna rolled her eyes at him and shook her head with a smirk on her face.

"Rayna already knows that she's gonna be gettin' picked on a lot tonight. It's the one night I'm gonna be able to get away with it, so I'm gonna make the most of it. I'm probably gonna pay for it later, though. It'll be worth it." Deacon laughed along with the crowd. "Actually, I better do my best to behave. That motorcycle I rode in here on is mine and she didn't put up a fight 'bout that. I don't wanna go back to the days of her not bein' ok with me ridin'."

"Let's get on with this then. Here to present the award for Breakthrough Video of the Year is Sadie Stone." Deacon hugged his sister-in-law as he left the stage.

Sadie ran through the list of nominees. "And Daphne Claybourne." She opened the envelope. "And the winner is, Daphne Claybourne."

Daphne walked up on the stage to accept her award. "First of all, I would like to thank my director MJ Waterson. This video wouldn't have been possible without you. To my parents for always having my back no matter what. To my sister for always bringing out the best in me. I get to say this for the first time and I'm excited about it. To my amazing boyfriend, Joel. You put up with a lot from me and I appreciate it."

* * *

"So, Casey, you really brought down the house out there." Juliette got Casey cornered backstage.

"Thanks, Juliette, that means a lot to me comin' from you." Casey smiled.

"If you know one thing about me by now it's that I don't say things I don't mean. You're an incredible artist." Juliette complimented her again.

"Juliette, you only compliment a person this much when you want somethin' from someone. Just spit it out. I can promise you that I will probably be down for whatever you have in mind." Casey called her out on her bullshit.

"Damn, smart and blunt. I knew I liked ya for a reason, Miller. You're right I do want somethin' from ya. I want you to be my opener on my tour. Strong female artists like you are the reason that Rayna started this label." Juliette told her.

"Seriously? You really want me to come out on tour with you?" Casey's eyes got big.

"I would be stupid not to want you on my tour. I know that you're a pretty big deal in your own right, but I would love for you to come out with me." Juliette nodded her head.

"I mean, of course, yes. I would be stupid to say anything else." Casey laughed nervously.

"That's what I like to hear. And I think that you're really gonna like the pre-opener if I can get who I want." Juliette replied.

Daphne walked backstage holding her award.

"Daphne, just the person I wanted to see. I'm so proud of you, girl." Juliette hugged her.

"Thanks, Juliette. When I was younger I looked up to you so much and I still do." Daphne hugged her back.

"I'm glad you said that. There's no way that you can turn down the favor I'm about to ask you after sayin' somethin' like that." Juliette buttered her up.

"What do you need?" Daphne asked.

"I want you to be my first opener out on tour this summer. I know that it may seem a little bit beneath you, but we do things bigger and better on my tours. I already have Casey on board. If you say yes it will be perfect." Juliette made it almost impossible for her to say no.

"I'm actually gonna say yes. That would be an amazing opportunity for me. Plus, it keeps me off Maddie and Jimmy's tour. I love them both, but I don't want to be out on the road with the newlyweds. Any kind of tour would be great for me right now. All you have to do is let mom know." Daphne replied.

"Daph, before you commit to that I have a favor to ask." Casey interrupted.

"Casey, as happy as I am right now I'm in the favor granting business." Juliette made a give it to me gesture with her hands.

"My baby brother needs to get out of town and it would be great if I could keep an eye on him. He could be a roadie or security. I mean he is an enforcer in the MC world. He has to be good at that type of thing. I know that he and Daph have history and I want to make sure that it is ok with her." Casey rambled.

"Casey, Cody and I both equally screwed out relationship up and I'm happy now. I want the same thing for him. I'm ok with him being out on the road with us if Juliette is ok with it." Daphne assured her.

"I'm more than ok with it." Juliette agreed.

"Then I'm the only one unsure about having the degenerate out on the road with us." Casey chuckled.

"Casey, don't worry about it. He will do just fine." Juliette patted her back.

* * *

"It's time to head out to the streets for another of our performers. I'll let Joel introduce this next artist." Deacon handed things over to Joel.

"Hey, I'm down here on the riverfront and our next performer is about to go on. Let's give it up for, Avery Barkley." Joel announced Avery.

Avery took the stage and started playing. _"She got a smile that makes your worst day feel like it's your birthday. She's got a laugh like confetti would change her name if she let me. She's got a way of changing the game. The way that you is never the same."_

" _She's the kind that makes you wanna ride around windows down yeah with the radio. She's the kinds that makes you wanna drop you plans, drop a grand hell where the money goes. She' make you wanna fight for her. She make you wanna die for her, yeah. She make you wanna fall. Make you want it wall, make you wanna call. She make you wanna die for her."_ The song was obviously about Juliette.

" _The way that she moves is like a soft glow. Flicker of a candle. She turns my cool into disaster heart is pumping faster. She's head to toe body and soul so beautiful she don't even know."_

" _She's the kind that makes you wanna ride around windows down yeah with the radio. She's the kinds that makes you wanna drop you plans, drop a grand hell where the money goes. She' make you wanna fight for her. She make you wanna die for her, yeah. She make you wanna fall. Make you want it wall, make you wanna call. She make you wanna die for her. She make you wanna die for her."_

" _For her I would walk a straight line. Wear out the soles of my shoes for her. I would run through the night just to kiss her one more time. If she wanted me to."_ He wailed.

" _She's the kind that makes you wanna ride around windows down yeah with the radio. She's the kinds that makes you wanna drop you plans, drop a grand hell where the money goes. She' make you wanna fight for her. She make you wanna die for her, yeah. She make you wanna fall. Make you want it wall, make you wanna call. She make you wanna die for her. She make you wanna fall. Make you want it all. Make you wanna call. She make you wanna die for her. She make you wanna die for her."_

* * *

" _My mountain is a molehill my throne's a busted chair. This crown has turn to rust and it's all tangled in my hair. This high horse that I ride on is gonna buckle at the knee. Upon my castle made of sand I cannot be the king of me."_ Will's cowboy hat was dipped low and guitars played softly in the background. The stage was dark and the only light was on his face at the moment.

" _There's the man in white his words are painted red. There's power in his blood and only truth in what he said. There's a man in black with a needle in his vein lyin flat upon his back this is the prayer that he once prayed."_ The lights came on, on the stage and the electric instruments fired up.

" _He said. My mountain is a molehill my throne's a busted chair. This crown has turn to rust and it's all tangled in my hair. This high horse that I ride on is gonna buckle at the knee. Upon my castle made of sand I cannot be the king of me."_

" _And this harem in my heart is made of hot metal and fool's gold. Once your statue turns. All that's left in the end is your soul. God save your soul."_ Will crooned while he played his guitar.

" _He said shout out of control with all your heart and soul. Though this cold world may tear you apart let the whole world know."_

" _My mountain is a molehill my throne's a busted chair. This crown has turn to rust and it's all tangled in my hair. This high horse that I ride on is gonna buckle at the knee. Upon my castle made of sand I cannot be the king of me. My mountain is a molehill my throne's a busted chair. This crown has turn to rust and it's all tangled in my hair. This high horse that I ride on is gonna buckle at the knee. Upon my castle made of sand I cannot be the king of me. Lord I am just a man I cannot be the king of me."_ He finished and bowed his head.

* * *

"We've been here all night and I got a feelin' that ya'll have been waitin' on a little somethin'. That wait is over now. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present my wife, Rayna Jaymes." Deacon welcomed Rayna out on stage.

" _I've seen the south of France. I've seen the sunset dance over Sunset Avenue. I've seen the Rolling Stones got real good at rock 'n' roll. Seen a lot of dreams come true. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you."_ Rayna sang soulfully.

" _Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you. Baby, you're above the year I've been moved to tears by the wonders of this old news. One of God's mysteries it never fails to get to me. Is the moment when I'm holdin' onto you. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you."_ She snuck a quick peek at Deacon on the side of the stage.

" _I've seen a newborn child put stars in her momma's eyes and I pray to the man in the moon. I got drunk with the Highwaymen. Felt the burn of the desert wind. Seen some promisin' I do's. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you."_ She'd drawn on their past to write this song.

" _Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you. Baby, you're above the year I've been moved to tears by the wonders of this old news. One of God's mysteries it never fails to get to me. Is the moment when I'm holdin' onto you. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you."_

" _Baby, we just rolled in it's cold here in Michigan got a sold-out show tonight. Pretty soon we'll hit the stage. I'll feel the lights hit my face. We'll see some magic in the room ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you. No, no, no, no. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you. Ain't no moment like when I'm holdin' onto you."_ Rayna brought the house down with that song. It was on par with her early work.

"I wanna thank ya'll for havin' me as your host tonight. It's been a lotta fun for me and I hope it's been fun for you too. Hopefully, I'll see you back here the same time next year. Until then God bless, ya'll." Deacon signed off.

* * *

"Alright, gentlemen and little lady, we are all set for the night. I have the pizza ordered and we are gonna have so much fun. You three boys need to have a seat. We have some work to do tomorrow and ya'll need haircuts. I promise to make it fast and not to scalp ya." JC herded the three little boys into the kitchen.

"Jimmy, you better not do that if you're gonna make a mess." Maddie warned him.

"I don't plan on makin' a mess. I just wanna give 'em haircuts that are gonna keep 'em cool. Your momma asked me to." JC defended himself.

"Do what you gotta do, babe. I can't believe you found a pizza place that delivers this late. I'm pretty damn impressed." Maddie stuck her bottom lip out and shrugged.

"I know a guy." JC teased her.

"My dad knows a guy in other words." Maddie corrected him.

"Yeah, he gave me the pizza hookup." JC looked at her like she was crazy.

"Of course, he did, that's a thing he does." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I'm his son-in-law he was bein' nice to me. Deal with it, babe. If he treated me like crap you wouldn't be happy with that either." JC pointed out to her.

"JC, just take the boys into the kitchen and cut their hair." Maddie sighed in resignation.

* * *

"Oh, Deacon, yes, babe." Rayna cried out underneath Deacon.

Deacon was on top of her stroking in and out of her with the precision of a steam engine.

Rayna moaned loudly and drug her nails down his back.

Deacon put his hands under her ass and lifted her pelvis up to thrust into her at a different angle.

Rayna buried her face in his neck and kissed it. "Mmm, baby, I'm so, so close I'm 'bout to come right now. I wanna come all over your rock hard cock."

"I can feel hot wet your tight pussy is, baby. I want you to come so hard for me." Deacon whispered in her ear seductively.

Rayna clenched her walls around him and started to come hard.

"Oh, God yes, babe." Deacon shot his load in her.

"Wow, babe," Rayna panted and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Wow, is right. We really needed that." Deacon kissed her and stirred his semi hard dick inside her.

"Ahh, Deacon!" Rayna cried out in the throes of passion.

Deacon brushed his pubic bone against her clit hoping to send her over the edge again.

"Ahh, ahh, ahh, Deacon, I'm gonna come again. Yes, baby, yes. Just a little bit more. I need this so badly." Rayna gripped his shoulders tightly and rocked against him.

"I want you to come so hard that you melt in my arms." Deacon nibbled on her ear.

"Fuck! Honey, you are so good. No one can fuck me the way you do." Rayna tossed her hair over her shoulder.

Deacon fastened his lips around her nipple and sucked on it.

Rayna threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged on it hard. Her toes curled and she locked her ankles around his waist. "OH Fuck!" She cried out as she came.

Deacon started to make out with her. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom without pulling out of her.

Rayna awoke the next morning to the smell of cooking bacon filling the air. She stretched out in bed and breathed in deeply. Her husband really knew how to spoil her.

Deacon walked in carrying a tray as she was about to get out of bed and come see what he was doing. "Crispy bacon, toast, eggs, pancakes, orange juice, milk, and coffee. For the hottest label head slash artist slash love of my life slash mother of my children." He kissed her lips tenderly.

"I love you so damn much." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you so damn much too." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"This smells amazin'." Rayna looked at the food in front of her.

"It better. I put a lotta effort into it." Deacon crawled into his side of the bed.

"You take such good care of me, baby. I really appreciate you." Rayna stole a kiss from him.

"I love takin' care of ya, Ray. It's one of my favorite things to do." Deacon smiled against her lips.

"You are perfect." Rayna lifted a forkful of scrambled eggs to her mouth. "This tastes even better than it smells."

"You always have enjoyed Eggs Deacon." Deacon opened his mouth for her to feed him a bite. He'd given her extra-large portions so she could feed both of them.

"Eggs Deacon have always been amazin'." Rayna fed him a bite.

"I've missed you, ya know?" Deacon said after he'd finished chewing his food.

"I've missed you to even though you've been by my side every day. We've been connected, but not on an intimate level." Rayna agreed with him.

Deacon picked up a piece of bacon and nibbled on it. "Damn, that bacon is amazin'. I know what you mean, babe. It's been really hard for us lately. Our first daughter is an unmitigated pain in the ass and she's so needy, but I think we've got her taken care of now."

Rayna took a bite of the bacon. "OH, MY GOD! This bacon is life altering. I don't know what you did to this, but I think I've just fallen even deeper in love with you. I'm keepin' you 'round for a while and I'm not goin' anywhere. A man who can cook like this is a man worth keepin'."

Deacon threw his head back and laughed heartily. "I'm glad that you're enjoyin' it so damn much. I really put my heart and soul into that bacon. I put my heart and soul into most the breakfasts I make ya."

Rayna cuddled up to him and fed him another bite of eggs. "You ready to play Ernest Tubb Record shop tonight?"

"I'm more than ready. I can't wait to premiere this new duet that we did together." Deacon wrapped his arms around her.

"I think it's a damn good idea that we put this on my portion of the concept album and not yours. It's too soft for you." Rayna observed.

"This was you all the way. Did I tell you how much I loved the song that you performed off your new album last night?" Deacon asked her.

"You didn't, but it is always nice to hear. Your opinion means more to me than any of the critics'." Rayna sank into him.

"I feel the same way about you." Deacon kissed the top of her head.

* * *

" _She don't give a damn 'bout your Benjamin Franklins she wants Aretha. She don't give a damn how you're findin' your money it's all how ya treat her. She just want a friend to be there when she opens her eyes in the mornin'. She wants you to say what you mean and mean everythin' that you're sayin."_ Rayna opened their show.

"' _Cause that's how you talk to a woman. That's how you speak to a girl. That's how you get with the lady that's worth more than anythin' in your whole world. You better respect your momma and respect the hell outta her. 'Cause that's how you talk to a woman. That's how you speak to a girl."_ She sang the first chorus alone. They had written this song together because they had three daughters and they wanted the men in their life to treat them right.

" _She don't give a damn 'bout your pride or the lies that you're hidin' behind she just want to feel that you're real. That she's near to the man that's inside. She don't need to hear she's a queen on a throng that she's more than amazin'. She just wants you to say what you mean and to mean everythin' that you're sayin'."_ Deacon led the next verse. This small crowd was more his style than hers, but she had wanted to reconnect with her fans.

"' _Cause that's how you talk to a woman. That's how you speak to a girl. That's how you get with the lady that's worth more than anythin' in your whole world. You better respect your momma and respect the hell outta her. 'Cause that's how you talk to a woman. That's how you speak to a girl._

" _That's how you speak to, speak to her. That's how you speak to, speak to her."_ They sang out while staring at each other.

"' _Cause that's how you talk to a woman that's how you speak to a girl. That's how you get with a lady who's worth more than anythin' in your whole world."_ Rayna sang along.

" _You better respect your momma. Respect the hell outta her. 'Cause that how you talk to a woman that's how you speak to a girl."_ Deacon's voice came back in.

" _That's how you talk to a woman."_ Deacon wailed.

" _That's how you speak to a girl."_ Rayna ended the song softly, but she held the last note.

"I have to say that it was perfect that we could do that here in front of ya'll. We have a ninety-nine percent finished duel concept album that we can't wait for ya'll to hear. I know for me it feels good to get back to the smaller venues. It reminds me of where I came from. A place like this is Deacon's bread and butter. He's more at home here than he is a sold-out stadium." Rayna spoke to the crowd.

"My darlin' wife decided that she wanted to get back to her roots with her new album and our duel album. I couldn't be happier that she made that decision. I love playin' to these smaller crowds and bein' more intimate and personal. I promise that ya'll are still gonna get the big-time artist show from us on stage this summer, but this is where we started out. It's the people like you who come out to these shows who made us who we are today." Deacon added.

"When we started out we would have considered playin' a place like this to be high class. It really reminds us of where we came from. We are very grateful for ya'll comin' out tonight and supportin' us. We love ya'll for it. That we have been in this business as long as we have and we still have fans not only from our generation, but from new generations means the world to us." Rayna spoke from the heart.

The crowd applauded wildly. Rayna and Deacon were always a hit together.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	77. Chapter 77

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: One Wing in the Fire by Trent Tomlinson, Like Jesus Does by Eric Church, 'Til I was a Daddy Too by Tracy Lawrence, and Three Year Old by Eric Church.

* * *

Chapter 77

"Jayme, are you almost done setting everything up?" Maddie asked her middle brother.

"I just carried the milk and juice into the dining room." Jayme reported.

"Good job, Rebel." Maddie praised him using dad's nickname for him.

"Jimmy and Daphne are almost done with breakfast. They wanted me to tell you that." Deac chimed in.

"You guys are such big helpers. What are Charlie and Jack doing?" Maddie inquired.

"They are helpin' Jimmy and Daph. Momma ain't bein' much help she's just sittin' at the counter drinkin' her coffee." Deac retorted.

"That sounds about right." Maddie laughed. "Hey, mom!"

"Yes, oldest daughter?" Rayna called back.

"You need to go upstairs and wake your husband up. You have one job and so far you haven't done it." Maddie teased her.

"I'm lettin' him sleep in. He has insomnia and when he can sleep I let him." Rayna replied.

"It's Father's Day, mom. It's his special day and he has all his babies under one roof without all the extended family here. I'm sure he'd want to be up to enjoy this quiet time." Daphne reasoned with her.

"I'll get him up in a minute. It'll be ok." Rayna assured her.

"I've read all the reviews and I think we have a budding superstar for a father. By all accounts dad knocked that hosting gig out of the park." Maddie told her.

"Your daddy was in his element the other night. That was the side of him that no one else could ever see when they asked me how come I stayed with him even though he was the way that he was. He is so much more of a people person than any of ya'll realize. He was always the life of the party even when he wasn't drinkin'. That was with our friends though. He could be a little standoffish with people he didn't know well, but once he warmed up he lit up the room and he could work it better than I could. I think he finally stopped punishing himself for the things he did wrong." Rayna spoke cryptically, because she didn't want to speak ill of Deacon in front of his younger children. They knew that their father was a recovering alcoholic, but they didn't know the full extent of it.

"He killed it up there, that's for sure. I was just a little bit jealous of his stage presence." JC chuckled.

"Daddy kicked ass and took names." Deac supplied.

"Language," Rayna scolded him.

"I only said ass. Pa says that ass is ok 'cause it's in the bible." Deac defended himself.

"I guess I'm just gonna have to have a talk with your Pa then. He doesn't seem to understand what passes for appropriate language for ten-year-olds." Rayna shook her head.

"Daddy says fuck a lot and Pa says it could be worse, that we could cuss like he does." Jayme shrugged his shoulders.

"Jaymes Wyatt Claybourne, I don't wanna hear that word comin' outta your mouth." Rayna told him sternly.

"It coulda been worse he coulda put the mother in front of it." Charlie mumbled.

"Oh, I give up. These children are clearly Satan spawn. They can be so sweet, but they have gutter mouths." Rayna groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"They get that from their momma." Deacon shuffled into the kitchen.

"Daddy, you're not supposed to be up yet." Jack wrapped himself around Deacon's legs and tried to push him out of the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm not? Well, can I get some coffee in the den?" Deacon laughed.

"Go sit in the den. I'll bring you a cup of coffee." Rayna ordered him.

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," Deacon headed off to his den.

Rayna poured a mug of coffee for her husband. "I will go keep him occupied while you finish up."

"Go on, you're not much help anyway." Maddie shooed her away.

"I will remind you of this conversation the next time you want me to do somethin' for ya." Rayna teased her.

"And we both know that you'll still do what I ask you to anyway." Maddie smirked.

Rayna rolled her eyes. "Such a brat," She mumbled as she walked off.

"Babe, do you care to explain to me what all the rugrats are doin' in the kitchen?" Deacon leaned back against the sofa with his feet up on the table.

"That is not a question that you get to ask right now, Mr. Claybourne." Rayna sat down and put her feet next to his.

"Give me that cup of coffee and I won't ask any more questions right now." Deacon grinned sexily.

"I'd say that's a fair trade." Rayna handed him his coffee.

"It's a very fair trade." Deacon stole a kiss from her after he took a sip of coffee.

"That coffee tastes even better on your lips." Rayna moaned against his lips.

"You tryin' to start somethin' that we don't have the privacy to finish right now?" Deacon laughed softly.

"If the oldest two weren't here right now I'm pretty sure we could get away with foolin' around a little bit." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"I think we can still get away with it, if we're extra quiet." Deacon laid her down on the couch and pinned her body underneath his.

"I like where this is goin'." Rayna tangled her feet up with his and started kissing him again.

"I think I like it too." Deacon ran his hands over her body.

"If you two are done playin' slap and tickle as mawmaw calls it breakfast is ready." Charlie stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You can't believe everythin' that your mawmaw says." Rayna tilted her head back so she could look up at her daughter.

Deacon was too embarrassed to meet his baby girl's eyes.

"Well, mawmaw knows what she's talkin' 'bout most of the time." Charlie shrugged her shoulders.

"Charlie, what do you think that means?" Deacon sat up and stared into his coffee.

"I think it means sex." Charlie deadpanned.

"That's somethin' that I don't want you even thinkin' 'bout 'til I'm dead." Deacon groaned.

"Ok, your brothers need to edit themselves and I need to monitor what you watch on tv closer. Oh, little girl, you and momma are gonna need to have a talk if you keep talkin' like that. I thought your sisters grew up fast, ya'll are growin' even faster." Rayna sighed.

"Well, babies have to come from somewhere." Charlie reasoned.

Rayna pointed her finger at Deacon. "Deacon Jr. It's not Maddie or Deac it's Charlie." Rayna put her hands over her face.

"I think we always knew that. Come on, babe, let's go eat." Deacon stood and pulled her to her feet.

"Let's go eat." Rayna wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Look at all this. Ya'll didn't make breakfast you made a feast. What is this for?" Deacon pretended like he did every year that he didn't know they did all that work for him.

"Happy Father's Day!" All six of his children and his son-in-law cheered.

"I really don't deserve ya'll. This is wonderful." Deacon smiled widely.

"Everyone, but momma helped." Jack reported.

"That sounds just like your momma, Jack Henry." Deacon picked the little boy up and cuddled him close.

"Daddy, you go sit down in the dining room and we will serve you." Maddie told him.

"I seriously don't deserve the six amazin' kids and the wonderful son-in-law I have." Deacon carried Jack into the dining room.

"We love you whether you think you deserve our love or not." Daphne retorted.

"I love ya'll too." Deacon winked at her.

After breakfast, the kids all clamored to give Deacon his gifts.

"Alright, alright, let's do this the only fair way we can. The youngest goes first." Rayna settled the matter.

Jack handed his dad a wrapped package. "Here, daddy,"

Deacon took it and opened it. Inside was a frame with Jack's handprints. In the background it read Right now my hands may be small with my prints all over the glass and walls, but one day they won't be so small and you'll these to look back on, hung on your wall. "Jack Henry, this is perfect, I love it."

Charlie handed him her gift next. "I hope you like it, daddy, it took me a long time to find it."

Deacon unwrapped the gift and smiled inside was eight antique fishing lures. One for each Father's Day Charlie had been alive. "Pistol, these are gonna go up as a wall hangin' in the den. These are just like the ones your Big Paw used to have." He kissed the top of her head.

Jayme went next with a big smile on his face.

"What do we have here, Jayme?" Deacon ripped into the package. "Guitar strings and picks. You even got the really good ones. Thanks, Rebel," He ruffled his hair.

"Daddy, I couldn't wrap mine cause of the way it was shaped, but I know you're gonna like it." Deac handed him a rod and reel.

"The fishin' pole I wanted. You did good, Outlaw." Deacon praised him.

"It's my turn then. Here you go, dad." Daphne handed him a rectangular package.

Deacon opened it and he got teary eyed right away.

"Read it out loud, daddy." Daphne told him.

"You didn't change diapers are kissed scraped knees. You weren't the man standin' beside my momma the day I was born, but you've always loved me like I'm yours. You saw me through my hardest days and you showed me how to love someone with difficult ways. You don't know how much it means to me, that you've been the man you didn't have to be. You took me in and loved me like your own even though by the time you married my mom I was half grown. When I'm standin' at the crossroads and don't know what to do instead of just one dad's voice in my head I'm lucky enough to hear two. But between me and you, you give the best advice and when I listen to you I don't make the same mistake twice. You're strong and kind and brave and smart and you'll always hold a special place in my heart. Happy Father's Day to a man who has earned even when he thinks he doesn't deserve it. I love you, daddy, for all you do, I want to think you, even though you didn't have to." Deacon's voice broke towards the end.

"Daph, I think I speak for your daddy when I say that was absolutely beautiful." Rayna had to wipe away a tear.

"Come here, Squirt. You know that your daddy is a softy and he can't take mushy stuff." Deacon opened his arms to her.

"I love you, daddy." Daphne hugged him.

"I love you too, Squirt." Deacon kissed both her cheeks.

"Well, since I'm the old kid in town, I guess I'm last." Maddie made a joke and handed him a picture frame.

"What's this?" Deacon asked.

"We didn't get many firsts together. You didn't take me to any of the father-daughter dances at school, but I did get my first driving lesson from you, your produced my first album, and the father-daughter dance with me at my wedding." Maddie pointed to each picture as she spoke.

"Oh, Maddie, daddy doesn't know what to say. This is beautiful and deep in more ways than one." Deacon gave her a watery smile.

"Well, you ain't technically my father, but you're my father-in-law. Happy Father's Day, pop." JC handed him a gift.

Deacon tore it open. He found a picture inside of him and Charlie from Natchez. There was also a picture of him and JC playing guitar together. "Wow, this is just, wow."

"I thought that you would like that for your desk. I know that you love all your kids, but I know your baby girl has a special place in your heart. And even if you're my father-in-law you're still my godfather and my biological father's best friend. You mean more to me than you will ever know, Pop."

"Damn, boy, you know how to get me all choked up. If it's ok with all the others and you're ok with it, you don't have to call me Pop, you can call me dad." Deacon hugged him.

JC looked around and six heads nodded. "In that case, happy Father's Day, dad." He patted his back enthusiastically.

"Thanks, son." Deacon gripped his shoulder affectionately.

"I have somethin' for you too, babe." Rayna handed him a box.

Deacon took it and opened it. Inside was an antique pocket watch. He gently took it out of the box and opened it. On the inside was an inscription. To Deacon, as long as I have you my sun will always rise. "Ray, you have no way of knowin' how much this means to me." He swallowed around a lump in his throat to talk.

"I do know what that means to you. I know that, that was the inscription on the watch your mawmaw gave your pawpaw. I was talkin' to your momma and she said from the time you were a baby you loved that watch. She also said that your pawpaw had to sell it to get you a little money to get outta Natchez and away from your daddy. It took me a whole lotta diggin', but I finally found it. This was Big Deacon's watch. If anyone should have it, it's you." Rayna kissed him.

"You are too perfect for words, sometimes, babe." Deacon kissed her back.

"Babe, you got Betty back for me. I owed you this watch." Rayna rested her forehead against his.

* * *

"Daddy, who wants to go first this year me or you?" Mack asked Will.

"If I remember correctly it's your turn this year, Dada." Will winked at him.

"You can go first if you want to. You are technically their f-a-t-h-e-r and I'm only their u-n-c-l-e." Mack reminded him.

"Because your s-i-s-t-e-r is amazin'. And it doesn't matter what biology says we are both here with them and raise them. That makes us both their daddies." Will pointed out to him. Mack's sister had been their egg donor so both he and Mack would be biologically related to the kids.

"It's sometimes hard to believe that you're the same guy who wasn't gay enough to be with Kevin Bicks." Mack punched his shoulder affectionately.

"Neither one of us are gay enough for his crowd." Will pushed him playfully. "Now, open your present from Lacy."

"Alright," Mack shook his head and opened his present. He fastened a new Rolex around his wrist. "Lacy, how did you know dada wanted this watch?" He picked his daughter up and kissed both her cheeks.

"Oh, I wonder how any of us knew." Will gave him a look.

"What was that look for?" Mack tried to look innocent.

"That look is because you've only been talkin' 'bout that watch for the last month." Will reminded him. "Now, open the big box. It's from Billy."

Mack tore open the wrapping paper. "Billy, you got dada new roller blades."

"Yeah, it's gettin' 'bout that time of year for you to start gettin' back in shape for hockey season. Your old roller blades are kinda worn out." Will explained to him.

"These are perfect. They will be put to good use." Mack smiled.

"I thought that would be the case." Will smiled back at him.

"Your turn, this is from Lacy." Mack handed him a box.

Will smiled when he opened it. He put a new black cowboy hat on his head. "Lacy, you got daddy a new hat. Come here and give me sugar."

Lacy walked over and kissed her daddy wetly.

"Now, it's time for Billy Boy's present." Mack slid another box over to him.

"Oh, this looks like a good box." Will opened a new pair of boots. "I love these, buddy, thank you."

"And it's daddy present time." Mack announced.

"That's right. I went practical this year, but I also know this is somethin' you've really been wantin'. I also didn't bother to wrap it." Will handed him a hockey stick.

"I love it. I didn't bother to wrap yours either." Mack handed him a razor.

"Mack, you shouldn't have." Will laughed.

"I should have and I needed to. You act like you hate my razor, but you're always using it. You took it when I had a road trip and I had to use yours." Mack rolled his eyes at him.

"I can admit that your preppy ass buys some damn good razors." Will conceded.

"You love my preppy ass." Mack winked at him.

"I can't argue that one." Will agreed with him.

* * *

"In honor of today bein' Father's Day I thought I'd do one off one of my older albums." Deacon sat up on stage at the Mile Marker. He liked to play there every chance he got. Sure, he had his own band and went on stadium tours now, but he was still in his element at places like this and the Bluebird. He started strumming his guitar.

" _Daddy's been a back-row Baptist with his share of front row sins. His Saturday night still on his breath every Sunday when he'd walk in. He's never led the benediction he's never sang in the choir. But he's an angel with no halo and one wing in the fire."_ He'd written this one once things between him and Paul had gotten back on good terms.

" _Momma lives by the bible. The bible lives by the bed. And she's lied along so many nights with scripture in her head. Prayin' good lord just be with him. I know his faith is tired. But he's an angel with no halo and one wing in the fire."_ He looked at June when he sang that line.

" _And I know he lives a little left of livin' right. And he's come close to goin' way too far a few times. But I'd trade a thousand prayers if just one prayer would come true. Lord, please believe in him like I believe in you."_ He closed his eyes as he sang. It had taken him a long time to come to the realization that no matter what his father had put him through he'd always love him even when he hated him.

" _Daddy's always been there for me from t-ball to touchdowns. Fixed my car and fixed my heart when they've been broken down. I know he calls for more forgiveness than most men do require. But, he's an angel with no halo and one wing in the fire."_ That line wasn't a complete lie. Paul was always present at his t-ball games and he came to his football games just to heckle him when he messed up.

" _And I know he lives a little left of livin' right. And he's come close to goin' way too far a few times. But I'd trade a thousand prayers if just one prayer would come true. Lord, please believe in him like I believe in you. Well, I just can't imagine what heaven might be like if me and momma make it without daddy by our side. Lord, could you please remember when it's time to call us higher. That he's an angel with no halo and one wing in the fire. Mmm,"_ He sang the end of the song softly.

"Right now, I wanna call the inspiration for that song up on the stage and have him do a number for ya. Please help me welcome my father, Paul Claybourne. I'm sure some of ya'll have seen him play here a time or two." Deacon clapped his hands.

Paul walked up on stage with his guitar. "That was mighty nice of ya, DJ."

"Don't call me that, old man, just get up here and play your song 'fore I change my mind and kick ya outta here." Deacon laughed. He got up and let Paul have his stool.

"Like my son said, I'm Paul Claybourne and any of ya'll who are regulars have heard me play before. I hope you enjoy this one." Paul started to play.

" _I'm a long gone Waylon song on vinyl. I'm a back-row sinner at a tent revival. She believes in me like she believes her bible and loves me like Jesus does."_ He still had a powerful voice for a man his age.

" _I'm a lead foot leanin' on a souped up Chevy. I'm a good ol' boy drinkin' whiskey and rye down on the levy. But, she carries me when my sins make me heavy and loves my like Jesus does."_ He winked at June when her eyes met his.

" _All the crazy in my dreams both my broken wings. Every single piece of everythin' I am. Yeah she knows the man I ain't. She forgives me when I can't. The devil man, no he don't stand a chance. 'Cause she loves me like Jesus does."_ He'd written this song one night watching June sleep.

" _Always thought she'd give up on me one day. Wash her hands of me and leave me standin' on some runway. But, I thank God each night and twice on Sunday that she loves me like Jesus does."_

" _All the crazy in my dreams both my broken wings. Every single piece of everythin' I am. Yeah she knows the man I ain't. She forgives me when I can't. The devil man, no he don't stand a chance. 'Cause she loves me like Jesus does."_

" _Yeah, she knows that man I ain't. She forgives me when I can't. That devil, man, he don't stand a chance. She loves me like Jesus does. I'm a long gone Waylon song on Vinyl."_ He finished the song and waited for the applause to die down.

"I've got another one I wanna play for ya'll and this is for my boy, 'bout fifty years too late." Paul started to play a different tune.

" _Do you recall, daddy, when I was six? I got lost out in the woods and you worried yourself sick. What 'bout the day I got in my first fight? Momma, she got mad, but you swelled up with pride. I never knew how deep a father's love could run until I had a son."_ Paul locked eyes with Deacon.

Deacon nodded his head at his father.

" _From watchin' him learn how to crawl to skinned up knees from skateboard falls. To prayin' he'd get through football alive. From hearin' his first words spoken the first time his heart got broken. And knowin' soon he'll spread his wings and fly. I guess I didn't know what a daddy goes through 'til I was a daddy too."_

" _Real love the kind that you can't understand until you hold it in arms and touch it with your hands. Pure joy the kind that you can only find when you live your life for them and leave yourself behind. More and more I'm seein' life go by through my daddy's eyes."_

" _From watchin' him learn how to crawl to skinned up knees from skateboard falls. To prayin' he'd get through football alive. From hearin' his first words spoken the first time his heart got broken. And knowin' soon he'll spread his wings and fly. I guess I didn't know what a daddy goes through 'til I was a daddy too."_

" _The fast pace that time goes racin' from first grade to graduation. And knowin' soon he'll spread his wings and fly. I guess I didn't know what a daddy goes through 'til I was a daddy too. I guess I didn't know what a daddy goes through, 'til I was a daddy too."_

"I'm gonna turn it back over to my son. Thank ya'll for lettin' me do that for you." Paul exited the stage.

Deacon sat back down. He discreetly wiped the tears from his eyes. The old man still knew how to take him by surprise every once in a while."This next is 'bout a very special little boy that has my heart firmly in his hand and I'm powerless to get it back." He strummed as he talked.

" _Use every crayon color that you've got. A fishin' pole sinks faster than a tackle box. Nothin' turns the day 'round like lickin' a mixin' bowl. I learn from a three-year-old. A garbage can's a damn good spot to hide truck keys. Why go inside when you can go behind a tree? Walkin' barefoot through the mud will knock the rust right off your soul. I learned that from a three-year-old."_ The song was obviously about Jack.

" _You can be a cowboy on the moon. Dig to China with a spoon. Talk to Jesus on the phone. Say I love you all day long. And when you're wrong you should just say so. I learned that from a three-year-old."_ The song had been inspired by a day spent with his youngest child.

" _Momma is an angel I heard him tell the man upstairs. He went on and on and back and forth like God was standin' there. Tonight, I sleep me down to lay6 and pray to keep my soul. I learned that from a three-year-old."_

Rayna beamed at him from the audience. That sounded like something her baby boy would say.

" _You can be a cowboy on the moon. Dig to China with a spoon. Talk to Jesus on the phone. Say I love you all day long. And when you're wrong you should just say so. I learned that from a three-year-old."_

" _Sometimes all you need's a hand to hold. A couple arms to kill the cold. And when you're wrong you should just say so. I learned that from a three-year-old. Yeah, honey, I learned that from our three-year-old."_

Deacon waited for the clapping to stop. "I'm glad ya'll enjoyed that so much. It's on my new album. Jack Henry, daddy loves you."

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Beings that Will is always in turmoil on the show I thought that I would give a scene of him being happy and having an actual storyline. I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out. Until next time please review.


	78. Chapter 78

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Song list: The songs used in this chapter are, Road Less Traveled by Lauren Alaina, Every Little Thing by Carly Pearce, and I Got the Boy by Jana Kramer.

* * *

Chapter 78

" _Why do you keep on staring? That mirror, mirror on the wall. It ain't fair at all, mmm. Dress sizes can't define, don't let the world decide what's beautiful. No. You won't make yourself a name if you follow the rules. History gets made when you're acting a fool. So, don't hold it back and just run it. Show what you got and just own it. No, they can't tear you apart."_ Daphne was doing her first song as Juliette's opener.

" _If you trust your rebel heart ride it into battle. Don't be afraid take the road less traveled. Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel. Don't be afraid take the road less traveled on. Oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Take the road less traveled on."_

" _Don't follow anyone. March to the rhythm of a different drum, mmm. Why do we analyze break out and criticize the crazy ones? Oh. You won't make yourself a name if you follow the rules. History gets made when you're acting a fool. So, don't hold it back and just run it. Show what you got and just own it. No, they can't tear you apart, no."_ Daphne continued.

" _If you trust your rebel heart ride it into battle. Don't be afraid take the road less traveled. Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel. Don't be afraid take the road less traveled on. Oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Take the road less traveled on. Oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Take the road less traveled on."_

Rayna and Deacon stood at the side of the stage watching their daughter.

"Babe, she's better by herself than we ever thought she would be." Deacon commented.

"I know, she's amazin'." Rayna replied.

" _Put your hands up, show me that you're one of a kind. Put your hands up, let me hear your voice tonight. Oh. If you trust your rebel heard, ride it into battle don't be afraid take the road less traveled. Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel. Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled on. If you trust your rebel heart ride it into battle don't be afraid take the road less traveled. Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel. Don't be afraid take the road less traveled on. Oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Take the road less traveled on. Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel. Don't be afraid take the road less traveled on. Traveled on. Take the road less traveled on."_

"And that is how that's done." Deacon lit up with pride.

"You're so proud of her. I am too obviously, but I guess I sometimes forget how close you two are. She wants daddy's approval over momma's." Rayna leaned against him and kissed along his jawline.

"We understand each other in a way that no one else can. You and Maddie are divas. Squirt and I are low key. I've seen your list of tour demands. You can't tell me any different." Deacon teased her.

"It's not so much a list of demands as it is a list of things I'd like to have in my dressin' room. One of the things on my list is sweet tea. That's for you, not for me. I'm not the one who drinks a gallon of tea a day." Rayna let her hand wander to his ass.

"I will grant your point on that one." Deacon leaned down and pecked her lips.

"Look at you two, I can't take you anywhere. Your newlywed daughter and her husband ain't as bad as ya'll are." Casey cleared her throat behind them.

"Who said that we wanted the likes of you takin' us anywhere?" Deacon bantered with her.

"How many times did you have me open for you back when I was first startin' out?" Casey countered.

"That's 'cause you're my brand of outlaw and you needed a daddy figure in your life to keep ya outta trouble. I was obviously right 'bout that 'cause you started gettin' in all kinda trouble when you started tourin' by yourself." Deacon shot back.

"Alright, that's enough outta you two. Casey, where are Maddie and Jimmy?" Rayna asked.

"Uh, they should still be back in my dressin' room. I don't think I wanna know more than that." Casey made a face.

"I don't wanna know either." Rayna grimaced.

"Look at that thick no-neck football player standin' at the side of the stage lookin' at Daph like she makes the world go 'round." Casey pointed to Joel with her eyes.

"That's the boy I'm gonna have to worry 'bout when it comes to her. I knew it the minute I saw 'em together. Just like I knew the minute I saw Maddie and Jimmy together romantically that he was the boy who was gonna take my little girl away someday." Deacon nodded his head seriously.

"Damn, sis, look at you. As far as older sisters go you're pretty hot." Cody walked over. He was part of her road crew.

"Shouldn't you be workin'?" Casey crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm just waitin' for Daph to finish up her set. I'll move your stuff onto the stage before you go on." Cody explained to her.

"Just be sure that you do what you're supposed." Casey warned him.

"I'm keepin' my nose clean. You don't have to worry." Cody assured her.

Maddie and JC both walked up to the group.

"Babe, your buttons are crooked." Maddie pointed out to JC.

JC straightened up the buttons on his shirt. "Oops," He laughed.

"Don't laugh it's not funny." Maddie tried to keep a straight face.

"Not funny is someone walkin' in on you in the janitor's closet." Rayna smirked.

"Babe, don't tell our daughter that." Deacon groaned.

"Freakin' Deacon, we were younger than her and unmarried when that happened." Rayna pressed close against him.

"Rayna!" Deacon blushed furiously.

"Daph is done with her set I better go get stuff ready." Cody tried to excuse himself.

"Word of warning, little boy. My sister is happy. Don't you come in and work your magic and leave her vulnerable like you have before." Maddie pointed at him.

"You should know how it works between us. It's a tacit agreement between two adults to have a little bit of fun together. Or at least that's what it's supposed to be. I don't cross any lines that she doesn't want me to cross." Cody made his eyebrows dance.

"Cody, you better go 'fore I break my foot off in your ass." JC growled at him.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go." Cody hurried off.

"I better get ready to go on." Casey put her ears in.

"Really? Maddie, seriously? You let your baby sister get involved with Cody? I love Casey to death and you know that, but this is Cody. He is in a motorcycle gang." Rayna gave her oldest a withering look.

"She's a big girl who can make her own decisions. Mom, she's the good one. If she wants to be a little reckless sometimes we need to let her. So much of your attention has to be put on me that Daph has perfected how to be the easy one. Don't give her a hard time it's my fault." Maddie made an impassioned plea to her mother.

"Ray, she has a point." Deacon shrugged.

"I know." Rayna nodded stiffly.

"So, what did you guys think of the new set?" Daphne bounded off the stage.

"It was amazin'." Deacon pulled her into a big hug.

"Thanks, daddy." Daphne kissed his cheek.

"I hardly recognized you up there." Rayna praised her.

"Damn, Daph, you own that stage without me up there next to you. I think you just may be putting me to shame soon." Maddie patted her back.

"Shit, I'm startin' to think that people bet on the wrong Claybourne sister to dethrone the current Queen of Country." JC whooped.

"Ok, that's untrue, but I thank you for lying to me." Daphne blushed embarrassed by all the praise.

"What was that? That was incredible." Joel wrapped his arm around Daphne's waist from behind. He spun her around and sat her back down on her feet.

Daphne wrapped her arms around Joel's neck and pecked his lips softly. "Thanks, babe. I really enjoy hearing how much you love my music. Let's not pretend like you aren't here to see Casey though." She teased him.

That had become a running joke between them that he was more interested in Casey and Maddie, because he had described them as dirty sexy.

"You know me, she's number one on my list." Joel winked at her.

"I know, you don't get anything past me." Daphne kissed him again.

* * *

" _The scent that you left on my pillow. The sound of your heartbeat with mine. The look in your eyes like a window. The taste of your kiss soaked in wine."_ Casey launched into a new song.

" _Every little thing. I remember every little thing. The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting of every little thing."_

"Do I know how to pick my openers or what?" Juliette gloated to Rayna.

"You certainly did a good job of it this time around. I'll give you that." Rayna retorted.

" _Guess you forget what you told me, because you left my heart on the floor. Baby, your ghost still haunts me, but I don't wanna sleep with him no more."_

" _Every little thing. I remember every little thing. The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting of every little thing. I remember every little thing. The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting of every little thing."_ Casey sang from a deep place in her soul.

"Juliette, I think we've finally grown up and figured out how to make yourself shine while lettin' other people 'round you shine too." Deacon complimented her.

"Since you are one of the people who has seen me at my worst it means a lot to me." Juliette replied.

"She finally learned to be an adult." Avery chuckled.

"Avery, don't push it." Rayna rolled her eyes playfully.

" _They say time is the only healer. God, I hope that isn't right, 'cause right now I'd die to not remember every little thing."_ Casey closed her eyes and really dug deep to deliver that line.

" _I remember every little thing. The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting. Every little thing. I'm haunted by the memories of every little thing. The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting. Every little thing."_ Casey finished to the applause of the rowdy crowd.

"If ya'll liked that one hold onto your hats. I had a bag full of exes to choose from when writin' this album and I put 'em to good use." Casey was already strumming on new tune on her guitar.

" _I saw your picture in the paper. Honeymoon in Jamaica, she's a lucky girl. You look so grown up in your black tux. From a ball cap and a pickup seems like another world. You and me and our big dreams fallin' in love. We were two kids in the backseat all fearless and young."_ This seemed to be from the deep place she had gotten the other song. It went against her outlaw image, but she had gone in another direction and it was paying off for her.

"I'm so glad that I got her to write this song. I'm glad that this whole different direction thing worked out for one of us." Maddie smiled.

" _I got the first kiss she'll get the last. She's got the future and I got the past. I got the class ring she got the diamond and weddin' band. I got the boy and she got the man."_ There was a tinge of pain in Casey's voice.

"Maddie, your last album was terrible, but you had to try somethin' new." Deacon told her.

"This new one is more than makin' up for that last one, though." Rayna added.

"Damn, this is Casey stripped down and vulnerable. This must be real." JC observed.

"Oh, it is. Her ex got married last year." Maddie told him. "Thanks, but you have to say that you're my mom and my manager." She added to her mother.

" _Yeah, there's the old you that I knew. Fake IDs to get into those spring break bars. Backwoods on a four wheel hangin' on tight I can still feel my racin' heart. And now you're cleaned up with a haircut, nice tie, and shoes. If things were different and I had a choice which would I choose?"_ Casey delivered the next verse.

" _I got the first kiss she'll get the last. She's got the future and I got the past. I got the class ring she got the diamond and weddin' band. I got the boy and she got the man."_

" _I got the first kiss and she'll get the last. We each got somethin' the other will never have. I got the long hair, hot head she got the cool and steady hand. I got the boy and she got the man. I got the boy and she got the man."_ Casey finished strong.

"Maddie, I don't know what you said to get her to go to that deep place, but I thank you for it. This is exactly what she needed." Rayna commented.

"I do what I can with her, mom. She may be older, but sometimes I think she needs me to lead her around." Maddie retorted.

* * *

"Mmm, Deacon, what are you doin'?" Rayna threaded her fingers through her husband's hair. She moaned softly at the sensation of his tongue on her bare sex.

"Ray, do you want me talkin' right now?" Deacon teasingly blew hot air on her clit.

"No, I don't want you talkin'. I'm very close." Rayna panted.

"Damn right you are." Deacon smirked and went back to the attention he'd been paying to her before she'd woken up.

After Rayna reached her orgasm she pulled Deacon up and kissed him. "You can wake me up like that any time you want to."

"I think I enjoyed that almost as much as you did." Deacon felt her up.

"That's not possible, baby. I really enjoyed that. I really appreciated it too." Rayna kissed him between words.

"Think we have time for me to show you how much I enjoyed that?" Deacon rubbed his beard against her neck.

"You wanna show me how much of a man you are? Wanna sneak in a morning quickie?" Rayna peeled his shirt over his head.

"I do, babe, on both counts." Deacon nibbled on her ear.

"I like the way you think." Rayna eased his boxers down and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I do have a good idea every once in a while." Deacon laughed.

Just as he went to slide inside her there was a knock on the door.

"Momma!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Shh, if he doesn't know we're awake he may go away." Deacon whispered.

"Momma! Let me in!" Jack called out.

"Aw, babe, I can't just let him stand out there and call for me." Rayna pouted.

"You're killin' me, Ray." Deacon groaned.

"Would you rather be empty nesters and have hot sex all day every day or have those sweet little voices callin' for us outside our door?" Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"You know the answer to that." Deacon rolled off her and put his boxers back on.

Rayna pecked his lips and pulled her panties on. "I owe you later. You are such a good daddy." She got up and opened the door.

Jack stood in the hallway with a pout on his face and his arms crossed.

"Good mornin', sunshine. Why don't you go get in bed and cuddle with daddy?" Rayna suggested.

"You locked me out." Jack wrinkled his nose up.

"Sweet boy, we didn't lock you out. Come here," Rayna picked him up and kissed his cheek. "You lay with daddy for a minute momma has to use the bathroom." She laid him in bed next to Deacon.

"Come here, Henry," Deacon pulled the little boy to him and rubbed his nose against his.

"Hi, daddy," Jack snuggled against him.

"What ya doin' up already?" Deacon ran his fingers through his hair.

"I had a bad dream." Jack replied.

"It's ok, daddy's got ya. Go on back to sleep." Deacon rubbed his back soothingly.

Jack yawned widely. "Ok, daddy," he buried his face in his father's bare chest and fell back asleep quickly.

"You are the prettiest little boy I've ever seen. I think I love ya even more 'cause you look so much like your momma. Who am I kiddin'? I love ya'll even more 'cause you're part of your momma." Deacon spoke to him softly.

Rayna stood in the doorway of the bathroom watching them. "I love more than I already do 'cause they're part of you."

"Come get in bed with us, babe." Deacon waved her over.

"I can't think of a thing I rather do." Rayna climbed back into bed.

"I can't imagine not havin' these little monkeys still climbin' in bed with us. This is everythin' that I never thought I'd have. I love every damn minute of it." Deacon kissed the top of Jack's head.

"I thought that I was done after Daphne. I never thought that I'd fall in love with the smell of dirt and chocolate chip cookies that our three boys have. The big boys are startin' to lose that smell, but this little one still has it. A hit of that smell is better than any high out there. And that little girl, oh, Deacon she is so much like you. I see the both of us in all of them, but when I look at her I see you. I saw you in Maddie, but not this strongly. Maddie has some of my qualities to balance her out. Not Charlie, though. I see all the parts I love of you and the parts that I don't love so much." Rayna reached over and stroked his cheek.

"I love you so damn much." Deacon took her hand and kissed it.

"Wanna listen to Maddie and Jimmy's radio interview? He's out. He's my child it takes an alarm or an act of God to wake him." Rayna asked.

"Yeah, let's turn it on." Deacon agreed.

* * *

"Maddie, why in God's name are we up this early?" JC leaned over and whispered to Maddie.

"Because, our boss set up this radio interview and she would be pissed if we skipped it because we got drunk last night." Maddie whispered harshly.

They were in the studio with Bobby Bones. Neither one of them had an official manager, so they did what Rayna told them to do.

"Here in the studio today we have, newlyweds JC Grayson and Maddie Claybourne." Bobby announced. "I think you two have some pretty exciting news, so I'll let you share it."

"Hey, ya'll, I'm JC Grayson here with my better half, Maddie Claybourne. I'll let her tell you what we have in store." JC let Maddie do the honors. He reached over and grabbed her hand.

"JC and I are proud to announce that our Campfires and Candlelight tour is kicking off at the Bridgestone tomorrow night. It's kind of our honeymoon tour and we are so excited about sharing that with all of you." Maddie took it away.

"We are all looking forward to that just as much as you are. Speaking of your wedding. You had a pretty star studded bash if the pictures that have been released on Highway Sixty-five's Twitter are any indication." Bobby changed the subject.

"You could say that and it's true to an extent, but to an extent it's not." JC answered.

Bobby laughed. "What does that mean?"

"That means you saw pictures of our wedding party and that's what led you to believe that. Will Lexington, Mack McCoy, and Casey Miller are our closest friends. Well, Casey and Juliette are both like sisters to me and Daphne is my sister. My Uncle Rhett was one of the groomsmen and I know that everyone around here knows who he is. We were way more low key with our wedding than anyone thinks we were." Maddie clarified.

"Let's talk about those adorable little kids who were in your wedding party." Amy interrupted.

"Those were our baby brothers and sister, our cousins, and our godchildren, and various nieces and nephews." JC took that question.

"Trust us on this one. You don't know how many people you're related to until you have a wedding." Maddie laughed.

"You don't realize what it means to have a parent or grandparent who is a titan of industry 'til you have a weddin'. I'm a Grayson and she's a Wyatt. Big Jack Grayson and Lamar Wyatt are a force when they get together." JC chuckled.

"You two are both too down to Earth to come from the families you come from." Bobby commented.

"I think I speak for us both when I say that that is a compliment of the highest order." JC replied.

"That's a huge compliment." Maddie agreed with him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it. This was just more of a filler chapter, but I promise you I have bigger things in store. I just have to build up to that with these tours that everyone is on. I promise you that you will enjoy it. Until next time please review.


	79. Chapter 79

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 79

"This is nice, I wish we could do this more often." Sadie sipped her glass of wine.

"We are all insanely busy people and we don't have time to do things like this." Rayna reminded her.

"Ya'll need to slow down and enjoy life. Take it from a woman who is up there in age. You gotta stop and smell the roses every now and then." June told them.

"Tandy, are you sure that you don't want some of this wine? It's really good and I bought it with you in mind." Sadie offered.

"I'm sure." Tandy smiled at her.

"Ok, what's up with you? It's not like you to turn down wine." Rayna looked at her sister concerned.

"Babe, I'm fine there's nothing for you to worry about." Tandy reassured her.

"Tandy, cut the bullshit. I know you just as well as you know me. There's somethin' goin' on with you. You need to spill it, now." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"This is a little early and given my age extremely risky, so it what I'm about to say doesn't leave this room. I'm seven weeks pregnant." Tandy smiled.

"No, shit? My slacker eggs and your overachiever DNA finally synced up?" Rayna grinned.

"To borrow your phrase. No shit." Tandy agreed.

"What is goin' on here?" Sadie asked.

"Bucky got cancer and went crazy and decided he wanted a baby. I'm old and dried up. My baby sister on the other hand isn't. She donated her eggs to the cause and we went from there. I didn't think it was gonna happen there for a minute, but it did." Tandy's eyes teared up.

"I am so happy for you. I apologize for undesirable traits this kid gets from me. But, I can promise you that nurture matters a whole lot more than nature. I don't say this in front of Deacon, but Maddie has some Teddy traits. On the other side of the coin Daphne has some Deacon traits. Actually, Daphne takes a lot after Deacon. Those two are very close." Rayna hugged her.

"It's ok, we both have the same DNA the only difference is you took after mom. That'll be good for me. Maybe it'll keep my dad genes in check." Tandy hugged back tightly.

"You've got that the other way around. Maybe daddy's genes will temper momma's genes a little. He's willful, but she was a force of nature. That's what poor Charlie's issue is. She's got way too many of Deacon and momma's genes in her." Rayna laughed.

"Do me a favor and don't terrify me." Tandy begged her.

"You should be terrified. Bein' a momma is a scary job." June chimed in.

"It's also very rewardin'. There is nothin' better than wakin' up in the mornin' to a little face just inches away from yours. Which, is why Deacon and I lock our bedroom door at night. If we didn't there would be a little boy in our bed every night. I don't mind it so much. His daddy on the other hand doesn't always appreciate that. Jack loves to bury his little feet in Deacon's back." Rayna tried to reassure her.

"Boys can be little monsters at times, but they are so affectionate. Girls are better behaved, but they are argumentative from the start. Timmy and Wy are the rowdiest meanest little shits, but they are so sweet to me. Gracie Rose behaves like an angel, but can that little girl sass. And it's only me she talks back to. She has Rhett thinkin' that she hung the moon." Sadie gave her two cents.

"In my experience girls can be very problematic." Rayna snorted.

"Not all of us chose to have children with a man called Freakin' Deacon. You kinda had to expect that you would have a little pushback from your kids." Tandy pointed out to her. "Sorry, June, you know I love him even though I don't want him to know that, but he was wild in his younger days. He's stepped up bigtime and I'm proud of him for that, but he used to be a drunk deadbeat." She added.

"We all know what he was. It's ok. If he wasn't my son I would have thought the same thing 'bout him." June waved off her concern.

"Wow, Tandy, I can't believe you're gonna be a momma." Rayna just smiled.

"I couldn't believe it either. I was shocked when the stick turned blue." Tandy replied.

"What does Bucky think 'bout this?" June asked.

"He's over the moon. He cried when I told him. He's so excited." Tandy lit up.

"Rhett teared up when he found out I was pregnant with Timmy, but he bawled like a baby when Gracie Rose was born. He loves those boys, but that little girl has his heart." Sadie informed her.

"Deacon cried every time one of the kids were born. He is such a good father." Rayna recalled.

"Mr. Sons of the Confederacy the South will rise again cried when he children were born." June added.

"I was pissed off with Paul for the things he did to Deacon, but I find that he has very admirable traits. When he talks 'bout marchin' in the civil rights movement it stirs somethin' inside me. It's just that you don't expect things like that from a Mississippi boy like him. He's surprisingly smart and perceptive. The progressive things that come out of his mouth are refreshing. He has a biracial son and he is very good friends with Will and Mack. Hell, he's the one who married them. Paul is a beautiful enigma." Rayna went off on a bit of a tangent.

"You don't have to sell me on Paul Claybourne. I love the man for better or worse." June shrugged her shoulders.

"We all know." Sadie drew out her words.

"He's different now. He's gotten help. He's the man I fell in love with. Beverly has always been loyal to her father and my two boys just wanna make sure I'm safe. Plus, have any of you seen how insanely good lookin' that man is?" June retorted.

"His sons look exactly like him. I could be dirty, but I won't be." Rayna bit her lip to stifle a laugh.

"I agree with her." Sadie added.

"His sons take after him in a certain way if you know what I'm sayin'." June smirked at them.

"June, Rayna is the only one allowed to be that inappropriate." Sadie slapped the middle of her forehead.

"Speakin' of the guys, I wonder what they are up to." Rayna mused.

"They are either out in the garage lookin' at Rhett's new toy or they are in the basement playin' on his new pool table." Sadie guessed.

"They are leavin' us alone, so I won't question it. You need to learn that when these men are quiet you let them be. Claybourne men are a pain in the ass. If they give you a break you don't question it, you just be thankful for it." June advised them.

* * *

"Rhett, this is one hell of a bike." Deacon drooled over Rhett's motorcycle.

"Hell is the right word. Paul put me through the paces with this bike. I worked harder on this than I've I did when I worked on the docks in Natchez." Rhett chuckled.

"You played through that three-game series with the Braves on a sprained ankle and a pulled muscle. You're gonna whine about doing a little work?" Bucky asked him.

"God almighty, Buck, don't ever say that in front of your father-in-law. He would shit a brick if he knew I did that. He has my arm insured for twenty million dollars. There's a fifty million policy on my left arm." Rhett retorted.

"And you now know where your wife gets it." Bucky gave Deacon a look.

"I never wondered 'bout that." Deacon shook his head.

"I think I'm gonna need to know what you're talkin' 'bout." Paul looked between them.

"Ray has her legs insured. For a lot of money." Bucky answered.

"It's true. It was an idea one of the idiots over at Edgehill had. I mean, have ya'll seen those legs?" Deacon explained.

Rhett went to open his mouth.

"Rhett, that was a rhetorical question. For your own safety don't answer that. I've seen your brother beat the shit outta people for even thinking about looking at her." Bucky stopped him from saying anything.

"I've mellowed out with age. He's my baby brother I wouldn't hurt him much. Plus, I don't think he's got a thing for redheads." Deacon patted Bucky on the back.

"Son, every man has a thing for redheads." Paul intoned solemnly.

"I won't argue that. Though there are times I wonder if the temper is worth it. That woman came after me with a baseball bat one night. 'Cause it was the first thing she could grab when I came through the door. Why she thought a burglar would be usin' a key to get in the door is beyond me." Deacon shook his head.

"You're lucky that she grabbed a baseball bat and not one of your hunting rifles." Bucky laughed.

"That's why the huntin' rifles stay locked up. That and I'm not entirely sure that my children wouldn't use them to blow stuff up in the back yard. I really have no faith in 'em when it comes to things like that." Deacon shrugged.

"If she almost shot ya for scarin' the shit outta her you probably deserved it." Paul told him.

"Damn, daddy, that's cold. You're supposed to side with us not our spouses." Rhett scoffed. He found himself referring to Paul as dad or daddy more and more without realizing he was doing it.

"I ain't sidin' with any of ya three when it comes to your wives. Rayna is a saint as far as I'm concerned and she'll kick my ass if I don't stay in line. Tandy just no, I ain't messin' with her if I can help it. She'll do worse than kick my ass. And Sadie is a national treasure you screw up with her you deserve what you get." Paul retorted.

"And I think that's fair. I wouldn't mess with the redheaded dragon sisters either." Bucky granted his point.

"One of these days those two are gonna hear ya call 'em that and you're gonna be in trouble." Paul advised him.

"Buck, you wanna beer? Does your treatment allow for that?" Rhett went the fridge to grab a beer.

"Actually, I got some pretty great news. Well, I got double good news. I found out that I'm in remission and I'm gonna be dad all in the same day." Bucky smiled.

"Buck, that's great, brother. On both counts. You're gonna need every bit of your strength when it comes to that little one. And you wanna catch up on your sleep now, 'cause you ain't gonna get any for 'bout two years. Unless of course you put the kid in bed with ya and then say goodbye to your sex life. I'm still tryin' to keep Henry outta my bed. I mean on the one hand I love that he still wants to be that close to us, but on the other hand it's me and Ray you know how we are." Deacon teased him.

"Congratulations, Bucky," Paul gripped his shoulder. "And, DJ, you were a clingy little shit when it came to me. I used to throw ya up on my chest and you'd go right to sleep."

"I'm so happy for you." Rhett told him.

"Thanks guys, do me a favor and don't tell Tandy that I told you. She really will kill me. No, that's not true, she'll just make me wish that the cancer did me in." Bucky shuddered.

"My lips are sealed. I don't wanna go round with her if I ain't gotta. It's just now that we ain't don't fight every time we're in the same room." Deacon promised him.

"That would be for the best." Bucky agreed.

* * *

"Alright, Mrs. Grayson, let's see the cards you're holdin'." JC sat back against the bench on the tour bus with a smug smirk on his face.

"You're being nice and using the ladies first rule, Mr. Grayson. If that's the way you wanna do it. I'm happy to oblige." Maddie laid her cards down. "Full house three kings and a pair of Jacks."

JC threw his cards down. "I only have a flush. Why the hell is it that I can never remember that you are a fuckin' shark when it comes to poker?"

"Honey, you forget who my parents are. My daddy is freakin' Deacon Claybourne. He taught my momma how to play cards and it has been her profound hope that one day one of us will be able to beat him. Now, come on, take that shirt off." Maddie smirked.

"This ain't right at all. I just want you to know that." JC pulled his shirt over his head.

"What can I say? I'm very good at this game." Maddie laughed.

"You're a royal pain in the ass, ya know that?" JC arched his eyebrow at her.

"Oh, honey, you're just mad because you have to spend half this tour opening for me." Maddie winked at him.

"Well, you have to spend the other half of the tour openin' for me. I know that has to kill ya a little bit. You're a diva and you like to be the star." JC shot back.

"You keep up talking to me like that and see where that gets you." Maddie warned him.

"If it gets you to not talk for five minutes it might be worth it." JC teased.

"I have my dad's temper I will come over this table." Maddie glared at him.

"Bring it on you know that I have a temper too." JC countered.

"Deal another hand." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Listen to this, boys, momma and daddy are in here fightin'." Harrison walked into the living area.

"Harry, shut the hell up." Maddie turned around and pointed a threatening finger at her bandleader.

"Forget that part. Momma and daddy are both almost naked, Harry." Sumter was JC's bandleader.

"Sum, don't go there." JC told him.

"That's what I'm beggin' ya'll not to do. This is a common area. I really hope ya'll ain't gonna get buck as naked out here." Sumter replied.

"She's still fully dressed and I still have my pants on. I think it's safe to say that ain't no one gettin' naked." JC assured him.

"You've known Maddie longer than any of us and you didn't know how good she is at poker?" Hayes looked at him like he was crazy.

"I'm well aware how good she is at poker. I always talk myself into thinkin' that this will be the time that I finally beat her." JC replied.

"He knows he just doesn't care. He thinks that he can beat me. That's never gonna happen." Maddie threw back her head and laughed.

"Maddie, I don't think any of us have really ever beat you. It doesn't stop any of us from tryin'." Hayes reminded her.

"Maybe one of these days you boys will get lucky and beat me. I was taught by one of the best." Maddie gloated.

"That's it I'm puttin' my clothes back on and we are gonna see if there's not one of us on this bus who can beat you at cards." JC pulled his shirt back over his head.

"That's wishful thinking on your part, but what the hell? I could always stand to clean someone out at cards." Maddie retorted.

"I'm in. There has to be someone that can beat her." Harrison agreed.

"Hell, count me in too." Sumter was always up for mischief.

* * *

"Casey, you are a freakin' slob! We've only been on this tour bus for three days and already you've made a complete mess of it." Daphne went around the bus gathering up items of clothing that Casey had left lying around.

"Daph, I was gonna get that. You could have left it where it was." Casey was stretched out across the couch.

"No, I couldn't have just left it where it was. There is literally no room for me to sit. Don't make me do to you what I have to do with Maddie when we share a bus." Daphne threatened her.

"Daphne, I swear to God if you divide this bus in half with tape I will strangle you." Casey sat up and glared at her.

"Then start picking your shit up. I don't ask for much. Just that you clean up after yourself." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"I promise I will try to keep it contained to one area beyond that I can't promise anythin'." Casey compromised.

"I'll take what I can get and I'll consider it a small victory." Daphne sighed.

"Now you've got the right idea. Don't argue with me and your life will be so much easier." Casey picked up her guitar.

"You're a pain in the ass. I sincerely regret the day that Maddie drug you home sometimes." Daphne groaned.

"I was already part of the label when Maddie brought me home. There was really no gettin' rid of me." Casey strummed her guitar.

"You are ridiculous. I really don't know how I associate with you." Daphne wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at her.

"You wouldn't know how to handle me if I were any other way." Casey just laughed at her.

"If you actually behaved yourself I think my mom would have a heart attack." Daphne laughed with her.

"That is why I don't behave." Casey smirked.

Juliette walked onto the bus on the phone. "Casey, Daphne, both of you say hi. Let Rayna know you're still alive. She seems to think that I will let somethin' bad happen to you."

"Hi, mom," Daphne called out.

"Hey, Momma Ray!" Casey yelled.

"As you can hear they are both fine and I don't think you have anythin' to worry 'bout. At least not from Daphne. Casey is my protégé. I call you tomorrow and let you know that I didn't kill them." Juliette hung up. "I have no clue what that woman thinks I'm gonna do to the two of you."

"Juliette, I think she's more worried 'bout what the two of us are gonna get into and drag Daphne into." Casey pointed out to her.

"I survived Maddie she knows that I can handle you two." Daphne assured them.

"I don't even worry 'bout her too much. She always thinks that I'm up to somethin'. Anyway, I had another reason for comin' on this bus. I wanted to let you both know that you are did a great job tonight. It doesn't matter so much on this leg of the tour and I wanted to let ya'll know that you're more than welcome on the private jet with me." Juliette took a seat.

"I think that it's a given that we are gonna hitch a ride with you instead of bein' stuck on this bus." Casey said like that should have been obvious.

"I will let you both have this bus and go get on that jet by myself. Juliette, do you see the mess in here? That's all Casey." Daphne pointed to the mess Casey had made.

"This is why Casey and I get along so well. If Avery didn't clean up after me my house would be a mess and my tour bus would be a mess. Well, Emily cleans up after me a lot too when I'm tour. Between me and the kids a huge mess gets made." Juliette replied.

"You take Casey for a couple nights and I will take all three of your kids. I can handle them better than I can handle her. If I can put up with the twins, Charlie, and Jack at the same time then I can handle your three." Daphne offered.

"I won't even argue with you. I'll let you take 'em for a couple nights. You are one of Cadence's favorite babysitters. That could just be because Jayme is normally with you when you watch her and I think my daughter is sweet on the middle Claybourne brother." Juliette wasn't about to turn down that offer.

"I think the feeling is mutual. Jayme is a hound dog though." Daphne pointed out to her.

"The good lookin' ones always are." Juliette chuckled.

* * *

"I swear the older that girl gets the worse she gets. She just hung up in my ear." Rayna stared at her phone in disbelief.

"I don't know why anythin' Juliette does surprises you. She does the same things over and over without ever learnin' anythin'." Deacon chuckled.

"Well, I think our daughter will be ok. At least I hope she will be." Rayna sighed.

"Our daughter is gonna be twenty-two. I think it's time we let her grow up a little bit." Deacon suggested.

"Rayna, Daph is gonna be just fine. If anythin' she will keep Juliette and Casey both in line." Sadie told her. They were just sitting around spending time together after dinner. Tandy and Bucky had already left.

"It could be worse Maddie could be out there with 'em." Paul supplied helpfully.

"I don't think I have the patience to put up with Maddie, Juliette, and Casey on the same billing." Rayna groaned.

"Where in the world is my husband? He went to get another beer like ten minutes ago." Sadie looked over her shoulder towards the garage.

"I'll go see 'bout him. He's probably out there secretly chuggin' beers." Paul volunteered.

"If he thought he could get away with it he would chug beers with him." June scoffed.

"Hell, if I thought I could get away with it I'd be out there chuggin' with 'em. I was always good at that. And flip cup. I could kick ass at flip cup." Deacon retorted.

"Deacon," Rayna said his name in a warning tone.

"DJ! I need you to come out here for a minute." Paul called to him from the garage. There was no urgency in his voice.

"I better go. Knowin' that old man the way I do they are probably out there workin' on that damn bike." Deacon pulled himself off the couch.

"You tell them to get both their asses back in here." Sadie told him.

"I will let 'em know, Little Sister." Deacon gave her an easy grin.

Out in the garage Paul was on the floor cradling Rhett's head in his lap. He was shirtless and he held his shirt against his son's arm. "DJ, it's 'bout damn time you got out here."

"Paul, what the hell happened?" Deacon rushed out.

"Don't ask any questions just stay with your brother." Paul ordered him.

Deacon dropped to his knees next to Rhett. "Paul, where you goin'?"

"Damn it, Deacon, I said don't ask questions." Paul growled at him. He took off out of the garage and around the side of the house.

"Rhett, what happened to you?" Deacon tried to get answers out of his brother.

"Fuckin' Pete ambushed me. We scuffled and he cut me pretty good with a knife." Rhett hissed through clenched teeth.

"If he has a knife there's no way Paul can handle him alone. I should go help him. Where the hell is your security detail?" Deacon let out a shaky breath.

"I'm fine, just go help him." Rhett grunted in pain.

"Ray, hey Ray! Come out here!" Deacon called out to his wife. "Hang tight, buddy. Keep that held tight against your shoulder. She'll be out here soon. Tell her to call nine-one-one." He got up and took off after Paul.

"Rhett, what the fuck?" Rayna asked when she came out.

"Deacon and Paul went after Pete. He came at me we fought he got me with a knife. Paul and Deacon are tryin' to be badasses instead of lettin' the security detail handle it." Rhett groaned in pain as he sat up.

"Easy, sweetie, easy. I'm gonna call nine-one-one. And I'm gonna hope and pray that those two idiots don't get themselves killed before the police get here." Rayna pulled out her phone and helped him sit up.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it. I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger I know, but I promise to get the next chapter out to you quickly. Until next time please review.


	80. Chapter 80

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 80

"You know when I hear my name come over the radio to get out to a scene by special request I know that it's not gonna be good. When I find out that it's you attached to the other end of the request I really know it ain't gonna be good." Lincoln looked at Deacon with his arms crossed.

Deacon was covered in blood and panting. "Linc, it ain't even like that, man. Some shit just popped off and you're the only cop I know that's ever given me a fair shake."

"You ok? You need an ambulance?" Lincoln asked him.

"I'm fine this ain't my blood. It's a mix between my brother's and my father's." Deacon answered.

"I'm pretty sure the blood on your knuckles is yours. You wanna walk me through what happened real fast? I know that you're gonna wanna get outta here when the buses do." Lincoln asked him.

"Rhett went out to the garage to grab a beer. Ten or fifteen minutes later I ain't real sure which no one had heard from him. Paul got up to go see what was takin' him so long. It wasn't a minute or two later that he was callin' me out to the garage. I walked out there to find my father and brother on the floor. Paul had Rhett's head cradled in his lap. He told me to stay with my brother and not ask any questions. Rhett told me what was goin' on and I called Rayna out to the garage. I went after Paul before she got out there. I found him tied up fightin' with Pete. You saw what Ol' Pete looks like, but he started wailin' on Paul and I had to step in. I mean you came and pulled me off him. I guess Ray called you and ya got here fast." Deacon gave a brief statement.

"Deacon, get a lawyer not that you need one, just be on the safe side. Go to the hospital with your family. I will keep a lid on this as long as I can." Lincoln replied.

"Thank you, Linc, I owe you one. You always come through for me." Deacon patted him on the back.

"Deacon, who walked the floor of your bar with my daughter on your hip when she was cuttin' teeth and I needed five seconds of peace? Who listens to me cry and moan when I just need to sit and drink? And who got me a great lawyer when Kota's momma's family tried to take her from me? It was you. We go tit for tat on favors. I can't remember who owes who this time." Lincoln shook his hand.

"Sure thing, brother," Deacon agreed with him.

"Give your old man my best. I hope I can still throw down like that when I get to be his age." Lincoln replied.

"We all hope to be that lucky." Deacon nodded his head.

"I will meet you up at the hospital as soon as I make sure that everythin' is taken care of here. If you need anythin' else you let me know." Lincoln added.

"I will, thanks again." Deacon took off to his truck.

* * *

"Oh, son of a bitch. This hurts like hell." Paul sat up on a gurney clutching his midsection.

"It wouldn't hurt so damn much if you'd be still and let the doctors do their job." June told him.

"June, I know that I made you feel this way and I apologize for it right now." Paul winced every time he had to take a breath.

"Compared to the damage you can inflict this is mild. Pete must hit like a woman." June didn't pull her punches with him.

"Gettin' the snot beat outta me didn't used to hurt this much. It coulda been 'cause I was drunk or 'cause I was a lot younger." Paul groaned loudly.

"Mr. Claybourne, you need to be quiet, so I can take your vitals." A nurse urged him.

"Paul, shut the hell up in other words." June rolled her eyes at him. He'd always been a baby when it came to being sick or hurt.

"All of your vitals look good. A doctor is gonna take you for a set of scans to make sure everything is ok." The nurse made some notations in his chart.

"Paul, I will wait for you out in the waitin' room I will have them come get me." June kissed him quickly and walked out.

"How is he momma?" Deacon asked.

"They took him for scans. They said that his vitals are good, but they won't know until they get the scans." June answered him.

"Here, I got you a coffee." Rayna handed her a cup.

"Thank you," June took a sip. "How's Rhett?"

"He's doped up on pain meds. They are runnin' all kinda tests on him. Lord knows that I've been on him to retire, but I didn't want it to happen this way." Sadie ran her hands over her face.

"Sadie, he's gonna be fine. If I know anythin' 'bout Claybourne men they are fighters." Rayna tried to reassure her.

"Claybourne men are a pain in the ass when they wanna be. I say that as a woman who has been married to one and raised one." June scoffed.

"We ain't that bad. At least I'm not." Deacon chuckled humorlessly.

"Deacon, you need to get someone to look at your knuckles. You have to make sure that they aren't broken." June put some of her worry on her son.

"I'm fine for now, momma." Deacon told her absent-mindedly.

"Deacon, go let someone look at that. You're a guitar player. You can't play with broken knuckles." Rayna tried to reason with him.

"They ain't broken. I know what it feels like when I break my knuckles I've punched enough walls and strong jaws in my day." Deacon flexed his fingers gingerly.

"True, I've taken you to enough hospitals to know when you've broken somethin'. You can move your fingers I think you'll be ok for now." Rayna knew it was better not to argue with him.

"I've got an update for ya'll." Sydney walked in the room. She was a surgical resident.

"Sydney, what are you doin' handlin' this?" Rayna asked her.

"I see the name Claybourne come into my ER and I make sure that I'm on the case. Uncle Deacon is my daddy's very best friend and momma likes to joke that havin' you as a client is what put me through med school." Sydney replied.

"Since, I basically have her on constant retainer that isn't a lie." Rayna chuckled.

"What kinda news do you have, kiddo?" Deacon sat up with his elbows on his knees.

"They are gonna take Uncle Rhett into surgery. The surgeon wants to poke around a little bit and see what's goin' on. They know that the knife sliced through his tendons and muscle. They aren't sure if there's any nerve damage. So far it doesn't look like it. They are gonna repair the damage that was done and he's gonna be ok. Pa on the other hand is a little bit of a mess. There's damage to his spleen, his liver, and his kidney. He got beat pretty badly." Sydney explained.

"His liver? He's probably finally rejectin' it 'cause it came from me." Deacon snorted.

"What 'bout his kidney?" June was concerned about that.

"He's not rejectin' his liver he just took a beatin' his organs have some bruises and contusions and lacerations. The most serious of those in on his left kidney. They wanna try to repair it 'cause he's a diabetic if not they may have to remove it. I'm gonna be in the OR with one of 'em. I don't know which one yet. I'll probably be with Uncle Rhett, 'cause that's the cooler surgery." Sydney admitted.

"Sydney, I love you and I appreciate you keepin' us in the loop, but not one word of this to Maddie or Jimmy. I know that ya'll girls have a hotline to each other. I gotta call your momma. Chances are we're gonna need her." Rayna told her.

"I promise I won't say anythin'. Momma is on her way. I took the liberty of callin' her for ya. I thought you might need her. I've gotta go. Sadie, you can come see your man off 'fore his surgery if you wanna." Sydney nodded her head.

"I will do that. You're a life saver, kid." Sadie got up to follow her.

Ten minutes later Lincoln walked in with his phone to his ear. "Now, you better hang up the phone, girl, I got business to take care of and you're keepin' me from it. Keep this up and I'll have to use my cuffs on ya next time I see ya." He blushed when he heard his caller's reply. "You would like that entirely too much, I'll see you as planned." He hung up the phone.

"Linc, what are you doin' here?" Deacon asked him.

"Your brother is a pretty good friend of mine and I regularly play cards in the bar with your daddy. There's nowhere else I need to be right now. Kota is with my parents. I'm free and clear for the night." Lincoln took a seat.

"And who were you on the phone with on your way in here? Another of your young lady friends?" Rayna arched an eyebrow at him.

"If I told you it was Kota's mom would that get you to stop lookin' at me like I'm some perv?" Lincoln deflected.

"Kota's mom is younger than my son-in-law. No, it don't make it any better. And really it has nothin' to do with her age. It has to do with how badly she's burned you in the past." Rayna gave him a withering look.

"What if I told you it was Casey?" Lincoln put his head in his hands to hide his face.

"Then my advice to you is this, you better know what you're gettin' into and you better not hurt her." Deacon leveled him with a stern look.

"I know damn well what I'm gettin' into. Casey is fun and uncomplicated. On the upside, I can bring her 'round Kota and that kid won't think a thing of it. I have no illusions that Casey is ready to settle down and be a mother. Plus, I still love Kota's momma." Lincoln assured him.

"Linc, what am I gonna do with you when it comes to women? You make horrible decisions when it comes to people of the female persuasion." Rayna scoffed.

"I can't help it that I'm a sucker for women. It's my major character flaw, sue me." Lincoln shrugged his shoulders.

"I will do just that. Don't tempt me, Lieutenant Hoyt." Hailey marched in purposefully. "Rayna, the outside of the hospital is crawling with press. You're gonna need to make a statement. Or at the very least it needs to come from someone at Highway Sixty-five. I know that it's not ideal right now, but as your trusted counsel it's what I advise."

"I'll call Bucky and have him draft somethin' up." Rayna replied.

"You really wanna wake him up? Why don't we make Nicky earn his keep?" Deacon asked her.

"Nicky isn't a spin doctor Bucky and Tandy both are. They know how to handle this better than he does. As much as I hate to bother either one of them with this I'm gonna have to." Rayna sighed.

"Actually, don't do that. This isn't somethin' that you need to spin. The sincerer you sound the better off you'll be. Deacon should make the statement. It'll sound better comin' from him. He doesn't know how to be fake. He's the best person I know for speakin' truth to power. You can hear it in his songs. He's the most genuine person I know." Hailey told her.

"Why me?" Deacon questioned.

"For the reasons I just stated and 'cause you're the son and brother of the victims in this case. And you're a domestic violence survivor. It's gonna sound better comin' from you. I know it sounds exploitive, but it's the truth." Hailey explained to him.

"So, 'cause my old man used to throw down on me I'm the best person to make a statement?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"That comment right there is why you need to be the one to make the statement. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Also, where are your children?" Hailey went into work mode.

"My oldest son is with my daddy. He needed some help around the house and he was willin' to pay Deac generously. Jayme and Charlie are havin' a sleepover at Scarlett and Gunnar's. And Mack has Jack for the night." Rayna explained.

"And I know the older two are both out on the road. You may wanna give 'em a call and let 'em know what's goin' on." Hailey advised.

"I'll call them. Babe, work on what you're gonna say to the press." Rayna wasn't too sure about putting something so important in Deacon's lap, but she trusted him with her life.

"I'm guessin' that the terms mean son of a bitch and abusive piece of shit are off the table for this statement." Deacon cleared his throat.

"Truth to power, Deacon. You say what you gotta say. It rings truer comin' from you 'cause you say things like that. Everyone knows that Rayna has this stage persona, but there ain't a fake bone in your body. Now, write your statement." Hailey rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll call Scarlett and let her know what's goin' on. That way maybe she can keep the electronics outta the little people's hands 'fore they find this out second hand." June volunteered.

"That would be great if you could do that, June." Rayna smiled at her.

"'Fore anyone goes anywhere I just wanted to give ya'll a status report. They are gonna take Pa in and repair his kidney. They are probably gonna have to remove his spleen and they think his liver will repair itself given time." Sydney reported back.

"You're sure 'bout his liver? 'Cause I already gave the man one third of my liver it's gonna be on someone else if he needs a replacement." Deacon snorted.

"Uncle Deacon, a normal healthy liver regenerates itself. An alcoholic's liver can't do that because there is too much damage and scar tissue." Sydney explained to him.

"Which is why I'm sometimes surprised that I was able to donate my liver to him. He'd been sober a hell of a lot longer than I'd been when he needed the transplant." Deacon chuckled a little.

"I think he drank a hell of a lot more whiskey than you did." June told him.

"I wouldn't be so sure 'bout that. I once knew these two guys who could four fifths in two days a piece. One of 'em is sittin' in this room right now." Rayna pointed to Deacon with her eyes.

"Paul drank beer and whiskey all at the same time. That was his problem." June corrected her.

* * *

"Yeah, mom, I understand. I can come back if you need me to come back." Maddie spoke groggily into her cell. She listened to Rayna and nodded her head along as she spoke. "Ok, I get it. I don't need to come back. Uncle Rhett and Pa wouldn't want that on their account. Call me as soon as you know anything. I don't care what time it is I wanna hear what's going on." She hung up the phone.

"That better have been important. You're makin' me binge watch this show and now I'm into it. I don't take kindly to bein' interrupted." JC pulled her against his side.

"That was my mom. Apparently, Rhett and Pa got into it with Sadie's ex-husband and they both need surgery. Mom said that we don't need to come home it's not serious enough for that. She's gonna call me the minute that they are both outta surgery." Maddie snuggled against him.

"Did anyone call my sister yet?" JC asked.

"Your niece called your sister. Hailey is there and she's taking care of things like she always does." Maddie replied.

"Oh, God, Sydney is really in her element in that hospital." JC chuckled.

"We need to send something to the hospital so it'll be there when they both wake up." Maddie sighed.

"I will take care of it. I know what to send a couple of tough guys like that when they are under the weather." JC smirked.

Maddie put her hands on both of his cheeks and pecked his lips. "This is why I love you, Cowboy."

JC rubbed his nose against hers. "I love you too, Cricket." He pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Maddie laid her head on his chest.

"I am callin' MJ. I don't have an assistant, but a nephew who worships me does the trick just fine." JC sent a text to MJ.

"We really gotta see about getting that kid a raise. He does a lot of work for us." Maddie kissed his chest.

"If he weren't doin' this daddy woulda roped him into the family business. It's payment enough that he doesn't have to be involved in that. Workin' under daddy's watchful eye has made poor Bobby crazy." JC ran his hand up and down her back.

"I think the thought of wearing a suit and tie every day makes you crazy. And I think that you and your siblings need to give poor Bobby a break. You guys dump on him so hard." Maddie rubbed his abs.

"Bobby is the wounded animal in our herd we pick on him 'cause he makes it easy." JC moved one of his hands up the back of her shirt and the other down her pajama pants.

"You wanna stop talking and go where this is leading?" Maddie put her hand down his pants.

"Absolutely," JC pulled her on top of him and kissed her.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press I'll only take a few minutes of your time. Earlier tonight my father and my brother were injured by my sister-in-law's abusive ex-husband. Ten years ago, Sadie shot Pete when he broke the restrainin' order that she'd taken out against him. Since he got outta jail a few months ago he's been stalkin' Sadie. Tonight, he made good on all his threats. Luckily my nephews and niece weren't at home and Rhett managed to stop him before he could get to his primary target. As a man who has lived through domestic violence I can tell you that havin' somethin' like that hang over your head is terrifyin'. You never know what you're gonna do or say to enrage the beast. All I know is tonight the good guys won. That's all I have for this time. I ask that you respect my family's privacy and you give us time to heal. Thank you very much for takin' the time to listen to me." Deacon held a press conference outside the hospital.

He turned around on his heel and walked back into the building amid the shouts of reporters' questions.

"Deacon, you handled that very well." Hailey praised him.

"Thanks, kid," Deacon gave her a lopsided smile.

"I'm not a kid anymore." Hailey kissed his cheek.

"Hailey, you are my baby sister. It's my job to protect you. It has been since I let your big brother get behind the wheel of that truck. I will always see you as a kid I can't help that." Deacon hugged her tightly.

"Vince was never on you. You kept him alive longer than he would have been. He woulda drank himself to death a lot sooner if you and Rayna hadn't been in his life." Hailey clung to him.

"Everyone always says that, but it's hard to accept it." Deacon pulled back and looked at her.

"Believe it, please, Deacon. He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up like this. He made his choice, you tried to get help. That will always be the difference between you and him." Hailey reassured him.

"Deep down I know that. There's a part of me that doesn't wanna believe that I could be redeemed, but he couldn't." Deacon took a ragged breath.

"Babe, come here." Rayna opened her arms to him and wiggled her fingers.

Deacon went into her arms without question and laid his head on her shoulder. "I love you so much, baby."

"I love you too. I know how hard that was for you and you handled it very well." Rayna ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed his back.

"I did the best I could, baby. It was hard. I kept it short, sweet, and to the point like Hailey said I should." Deacon planted a quick kiss on her neck before he pulled away.

Lincoln walked up to the group casually. "Hey, I made sure that Casey went to be with Daph. She said that Little Bit is ok."

"Good, that's great." Rayna nodded her head at him.

"I can tell you that we will take Pete into custody and put him back in prison." Lincoln retorted.

"Thank God, Linc, you are a good friend." Deacon patted him on the back.

"I'm followin' the law. If anyone needs to be in prison it's Pete." Lincoln told him.

"I think we all feel that way." Rayna gave him a nod.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	81. Chapter 81

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: Ask me How I Know by Garth Brooks and I'll be the Moon by Dierks Bently and Maren Morris.

* * *

Chapter 81

"Hey, Mister, how you feelin' this mornin'?" June was sitting by Paul's bedside when he woke up.

"Like I went ten rounds with my daddy after he found out that I pulled a gun on his favorite grandson and he whooped my ass all over the bar I was in." Paul wheezed.

"That sounds like Big Deacon to me." June kissed him all over his face. "Thank you so much for protectin' our boys last night. You finally found a way to do right by both of 'em."

"June, where's my son?" Paul gritted his teeth in pain when he tried to sit up.

"Deacon, went to go get coffee. They had to do surgery to repair your kidney you need to be careful sittin' up. You'll pull a stitch." June rubbed his chest to soothe him.

Paul shook his head violently. "No, not Deacon, Rhett. Where's my boy?"

"Your boy got hurt. You did everythin' that you could, but he still got hurt. You protected him, you finally stepped up for him. I'm so proud of you." June squeezed his hand.

"I wanna see him help me get outta this bed." Paul started trying to get out of bed.

"What in the Sam hell are you doin', old man? You get your ass in that bed and you stay there. You don't wanna do anymore damage to yourself than has already been done. Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you." Deacon walked in with Rayna. They both held two cups of coffee in their hands.

"Paul, you don't have to want for anythin' right now. All you have to do is think it and we will get it for you." Rayna spoke to him in a soothing tone.

"Right now, I want my son and not the one who looks like an old rancher. I want the other one." Paul grumbled.

"Rhett is in the room right next door. If you promise to behave yourself I will have Deacon go get him for you. The only way you get that and your coffee is if you lay still on that bed and don't try to get up again." Rayna bargained with him.

"You're a real ballbuster, ya know? If that's what it takes to get him in here then so be it." Paul pouted.

"I know I am. I'm so horrible. And your poor innocent son has to go through life married to me." Rayna rolled her eyes at him.

"You're layin' it on a little thick, Ray." June snorted.

"Hey! I take offence to that." Deacon protested.

"You ain't innocent, my boy." June pointed out to him.

"Paul, I'm gonna go get Rhett for you, but you have to promise me you will stay in this bed." Rayna pointed a finger at him.

"I promise," Paul said with a heavy sigh.

"You up for a visitor right now, honey?" Sadie asked Rhett.

"Is this visitor 'bout six and a half foot tall with silver hair and a voice that sounds like Satan just crawled outta the pits of hell?" Rhett of course was referring to Lamar. His left arm was in a sling and there were thick bandages on his shoulder.

"No, it's just his youngest daughter." Rayna walked over and kissed the top of his head. "Thank God, you look so much better, sweetheart. I was so worried 'bout you last night. You got a little of your color back."

"Rayna, thank you so much for what you did for me last night. It means the world to me that you stayed with me and kept Sadie from seein' me like that." Rhett reached out with his right hand and gripped hers.

"Rhett, your big brother thinks the sun rises and sets in you. I happen to think that you're pretty great myself. I'm so much older than you that I think of you as one of my babies. That means it is my job to protect you. There was nowhere else I needed to be last night than by your side." Rayna assured him.

"I love you, Ray. You're the big sister I never had." Rhett gave her a stoned smile.

"I love you too, baby brother. You're part of Deacon and I love that man with all of my heart. How can I do anythin', but love you?" Rayna kissed him all over his face.

"Ray, I'm all drugged up and emotional. Now is not the time to be sweet to me. I will start cryin'." Rhett grinned at her.

"Sweetheart, if you cry I'm gonna cry and I'm an ugly crier." Rayna warned him. "You feel up to a little fieldtrip? Your daddy really wants to see you. He's worried 'bout you."

"Paul, has never been worried about me." Rhett scoffed.

"I normally stay outta it when it comes to you boys and Paul. I know that he hasn't done much in either of your lives that was right, but he put his life on the line for you last night. Today he's your daddy." Rayna gave him a reproachful look.

"If it gets me outta this room for a little while I'll go see him." Rhett swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"Rhett, what in the hell do you think you're doing? You need to be in that bed resting. I won't have my star player over doing himself because of some liquored up hillbilly. I really wish you would have gone to the team doctors before you let them operate on you. It's a good thing that your surgeon is one of ours." Lamar walked into the room with his usual bluster.

"Daddy, now is not the time for your grandstanding. Rhett is going to see Paul. He's right there in the next room. There will be time for you to assess your losses later. Try to remember that there is a person attached to the other side of your contract." Rayna scolded him.

"I came to see the boy because I care for him like he's my own son." Lamar corrected her.

"If that's the case and you just wanna visit with him you will give him five minutes with his daddy and then you'll come in. If you just wanna berate him you can turn yourself around and go back the way you came in." Rayna glared at him.

"I can't argue with you when you're being like your mother. I'll just do as you said for the sake of making things easier." Lamar held his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Mhmm, that's what I thought." Rayna eyed him up and down.

* * *

"Jimmy, come on and stop dragging your feet. We have to act like we wanted to be on time where we're going." Maddie urged JC along through the hotel lobby and to the restaurant.

"I know that you of all people aren't gonna say somethin' to me 'bout bein' on time. You are your mother's daughter that way." JC scoffed at his wife.

"You know that the couches on that bus aren't very comfortable. You keep up with me and I won't hesitate to make you sleep on one of them." Maddie warned him.

"Maddie, we both know that that ain't gonna happen." JC arched his eyebrow at her.

"Only because I hate sleeping without you." Maddie pulled him to her and kissed him.

"Oh gross, try not to make me sick before I have my breakfast." Daphne made a face when she saw her sister and brother-in-law going at it.

"They are newlyweds let 'em be." Joel told her. They were in Atlanta and he had come because he was from Georgia and wanted to introduce Daphne to his family.

"You better stay on the older sister's good side she's in a mood today." JC advised him.

"I ain't stupid." Joel nodded his head in agreement.

"How are Pa and Rhett?" Daphne asked her sister.

"The last I heard they are both fine and they are gonna make a full recovery." Maddie pulled her into a huge hug.

"Thank God," Daphne sighed gratefully.

"Daph, are you ready for this? My family is already here." Joel interrupted.

"I'm ready for this." Daphne took his hand and smiled at him.

"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to run the other way. I don't come from the best of stock." Joel gave her a word of warning.

"Joel, I'm with you not your family. You've met my Pa and my mawmaw and my dad for that matter. I'm used to people who aren't rich. You have nothing to worry about." Daphne reassured him.

"You say that now 'cause you ain't met 'em yet." Joel mumbled. "At least your Pa and mawmaw know how to behave in polite company."

"Joel, you were at the house when my Pa had my mawmaw fry him frog legs. I can deal with backwoods, country people. Don't worry." Daphne retorted.

Joel's parents were sitting at a table with several other people.

"Momma, daddy, I wanna introduce you to the girl I've been tellin' you 'bout." Joel kissed both his parents' cheeks. "This is Daphne Claybourne," He pointed at Daphne. "Daph, allow me to introduce you to Larry and Donna Preston." He pointed at his parents.

"It's very nice to meet you. Joey has told us so much 'bout ya." Donna stood up and hugged Daphne.

"Momma," Joel blushed when she called him Joey.

"It's really nice to meet you too. You raised good man. I want you to know that. Every other man I've been with could take lessons from him." Daphne replied.

"I love hearin' you say that. We did the best we could to raise a good boy." Donna smiled brightly.

"I don't know what JJ did right enough to deserve a girl as cute as you, but I hope he keeps doin' it." Larry kissed her cheek.

"I am lucky to have him." Daphne smiled.

"Maddie, you wanna have your day made?" Joel asked her.

"I'm outta bed before ten and I didn't go to sleep until three. I think it's safe to say I always need something to make my day." Maddie retorted.

Joel walked over to a little blonde headed girl and whispered in her ear. The girl blushed bright red and looked down. "Maddie, this is my niece Sherri. She is a very big fan of yours. I mean obsessive when I say fan. She has all your albums and every news article you've ever been mentioned in." He laughed. "Sherri, is a very good friend of mine. Though I suspect she's just waitin' for me to mess up., so she can let her husband beat me up."

Maddie walked over to the girl. "It's nice to meet you. What's your favorite song of mine?"

"I like all your new songs that you have on iTunes, but my favorite is Maybe it was Memphis." Sherri answered her.

"You see that guy right there?" Maddie pointed at JC.

Sherri nodded.

"That song was about him. I wrote it before we got together. I was sixteen and I thought he was the hottest guy I'd ever seen. I didn't think I had a chance with him and now I'm married to him. His best friend knew that we both were attracted to each other before we did. I didn't like my best friend at first because I thought that she wanted to get with my boyfriend. I thought that he was one of the best men I was ever gonna meet outside of my daddy." Maddie dropped her voice to whisper. "That was until I met your uncle. If you tell him I said it, I'll deny it, but Joel is a good guy."

"His best friend is Will Lexington and he's married to one of your best friends Shooter McCoy. You really didn't like Casey Miller when you first met her?" Sherri's eyes got big.

"You really do know a lot about me. No, I didn't like Casey when we first met. Looking back on it that was crazy. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's as much my sister as Daphne is." Maddie clued her in. She grabbed a piece of paper and signed it. "Now you have an autograph."

"Wow," Sherri marveled.

"Do you have a phone?" Maddie asked her.

Sherri nodded enthusiastically and pulled out her phone.

"Great, come here." Maddie stooped down beside her and let her take a picture. "Now, you have something to impress your friends with." She dug around in her purse and pulled out a business card. "That is all my contact info. I want you to have an advanced copy of my new album when I finish it. I don't give this card to many people. It's my Highway Sixty-five account. If you can't get ahold of me through your Uncle Joel you send me an email. I check it once a day. Chances are that Daphne will be able to get in contact with me better than anyone."

"Thank you," Sherri blushed.

"It's no problem at all." Maddie reassured her.

"My nieces are just as crazy 'bout her. I don't exist when she's 'round either." JC commented to Joel.

"She has a presence." Joel agreed with him.

"Daphne, the star player for the Rivermen is your uncle ain't he?" Larry asked.

"Rhett is my dad's baby brother." Daphne confirmed.

"He's one hell of a ball player. It's a damn shame that we can't get him for the Braves." Larry shook his head.

"The Braves can't afford him. Plus, he's the heart of that team. Without him the whole thing falls apart." Daphne chuckled softly.

"And you were worried about her meeting your parents." JC whispered to Joel.

"I don't think I realized 'til right this minute just how sweet and loveable she is." Joel whispered back.

"You have it bad, my friend." JC punched his shoulder in a show of affection.

"Between you and me I don't want the cure." Joel patted JC's shoulder.

* * *

"I'll see your two peanuts and I will raise you two pretzels." Rhett pushed two pretzels into the center of Paul's bedside table.

"Uh oh, I'm dealin' with a rich man, here. I call." Paul replied.

"You sure that ain't too much for you, old man?" Rhett smirked at him.

"Just for that, I'll raise you two M&M's as well." Paul pushed his bet into the middle of the table.

"I can handle that." Rhett matched his bet.

"I would expect nothin' less from my boy." Paul retorted.

"Show your cards, old man, age before beauty." Rhett told him.

"I have two pair," Paul laid down aces and eights.

"I have three of a kind, eights." Rhett raked his winnings in.

"You little, son of a bitch. I don't know why I play poker with the fruit of my loins." Paul rolled his eyes.

"We get that from you." Rhett pointed out to him.

"I know damn well who you boys get it from." Paul shook his head in resignation.

"Why'd you do it, Paul? You made it clear for most of my life that you didn't give a damn 'bout me. So, why did you risk gettin' killed over me?" Rhett asked him. His eyes bore deeply into his father's.

"'Cause you're my boy and I'm your daddy. I didn't need any other reason than that to do what I did." Paul told him seriously.

"It just doesn't jive with the way you've treated me." Rhett reasoned with him.

"Rhett, you can't keep judgin' me by my past. I'm a different man now. I would do anythin' for my kids and grandkids. If that means I gotta die for ya'll then so be it." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll be damned if I don't believe ya. You really do care for us. It took you long enough to show it." Rhett arched his eyebrow.

"Better late than never." Paul snorted.

"I guess you ain't so bad." Rhett mused.

"You ain't so bad either." Paul gave him a small smile.

"I guess that's a good place for us to start." Rhett shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

"I really don't feel right bein' here tonight with my daddy and brother both in the hospital." Deacon grumbled. He checked his reflection in the mirror.

"Your daddy and your brother would both told you that they want you to play this Opry date. You're just gonna have to deal with livin' your life, babe. You don't always have to be the strong one. I know that you think because of your past you need to sacrifice yourself, but you ain't gotta do that." Rayna ran her hand over his cheek.

"I know that. I just feel like I gotta be responsible for 'em. I've always felt that way." Deacon explained to her.

"You are such a good man, babe." Rayna smoothed out the collar of his shirt and kissed his cheek.

"You make it easy to be as good as I am for you." Deacon winked at her.

"Get on out there. I'll be waitin' at the side of the stage for you to call me out." Rayna smacked his ass playfully.

"Woman, you better watch yourself." Deacon bit his lip sexily. He walked out on the stage and waved to the cheering crowd.

"I'll tell ya'll what it's been ten years and I still ain't used to that. I'm gonna start with a brand new one for ya'll tonight. It ain't off my new album, but it's off one I've got in the works with a woman that's pretty special to me. I think that you'll enjoy it." Deacon started to strum his guitar.

" _You're stubborn as they come, you'll never settle down. You'll always be the one who doesn't stick around. You made all the rules and you're set in your ways. You gotta have your freedom and you gotta have your space."_ He let the deep baritone side of his voice come out.

"' _Cause one day you'll meet the girl you swore you'd never find. Start feelin' things you never felt and spendin' all your time tryin' to figure out how she got this hold on you. And when you start to fall you'll hold on to your pride. Start buildin' up your walls and never let her get inside. You'll push her away 'cause that's all you know how to do. And then she'll leave you and you won't beg her not to go. Ask me how I know."_ This had been a difficult song for him to write, because he'd been in such a dark place when Rayna had married Teddy.

" _Go on and shake your head. Tell me that I'm wrong. Say I'm just another fool and this is just another song. But, I know how you are, 'cause I know how I am. And I'd give anythin' to go back and try again."_ He looked over at Rayna.

"' _Cause one day you'll meet the girl you swore you'd never find. Start feelin' things you never felt and spendin' all your time tryin' to figure out how she got this hold on you. And when you start to fall you'll hold on to your pride. Start buildin' up your walls and never let her get inside. You'll push her away 'cause that's all you know how to do. And then she'll leave you and you won't beg her not to go. Ask me how I know."_

" _And you best put this song on repeat maybe then you won't end up like me. 'Cause one day you'll meet the girl you swore you'd never find. Start feelin' things you never felt and spendin' all your time tryin' to figure out how she got this hold on you. And when you start to fall you'll hold on to your pride. Start buildin' up your walls and never let her get inside. You'll push her away 'cause that's all you know how to do. And then she'll leave you and you won't beg her not to go. Ask me how I know. Ask me how I know. 'Cause man I know."_ He closed his eyes as he finished.

He paused to take a breath before he started playing another song. _"Phone lights up in the dark asks where you are and I start drivin'. Meet me for a drink just an hour maybe two maybe three baby I'm in. Girl, you can't take your eyes off me and that first kiss is sweet relief ain't no one gotta know. Just one more before you go."_

Rayna walked out on stage holding a mic. _"I don't wanna be a liar. I don't wanna be a fool. I don't wanna be a secret, but I will if you want me to. You can leave me in the dark if that's all I get from you. He can be the sun I'll be the moon. Yeah he can be the sun I'll be the moon."_

Deacon blew her a kiss after they finished the chorus. This one hadn't been an easy song either.

" _The phone lights up in the dark gotta go, but it ain't easy."_ Rayna sang.

" _Tomorrow you'll be wakin' up beside him tell him that you love him, but you still see me."_ Deacon picked up.

" _In my mind when I'm lookin' at him it's the obvious elephant in the room."_ Rayna took over again.

" _He can't see it, but girl you do."_ Deacon answered back.

" _I don't wanna be a liar. I don't wanna be a fool. I don't wanna be a secret, but I will if you want me to. You can leave me in the dark if that's all I get from you. He can be the sun I'll be the moon. Yeah he can be the sun I'll be the moon."_

Deacon played a solo on his guitar. _"Phone lights up in the dark it's my turn and I start drivin'."_

" _I don't wanna be a liar. I don't wanna be a fool. I don't wanna be a secret, but this is somethin' I can't lose. You can leave in the dark if that's all I get from you. He can be the sun and I'll be the moon. He can be the sun I'll be the moon."_ They ran through together.

" _Phone lights up in the dark."_ Deacon crooned.

"Babe, I didn't know how I was gonna feel 'bout that song to be honest with ya, but it was amazin'." Rayna told Deacon once they were backstage.

"That song was a hard one. It was one that needed to be down on paper though. It's tragically beautiful." Deacon replied.

"Sweetheart, you were always the sun to me. I know that I didn't always treat you like you were, but, honey, Teddy knew when it came to my love that I was in love with you and I was just fond of him." Rayna pecked his lips.

"I know, but it still haunts me sometimes." Deacon admitted.

"Baby, you'll never know just how sorry I am." Rayna ran her hands through his hair.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	82. Chapter 82

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: Setting the World on Fire by Kenny Chesney and Pink, Whiskey by Jana Kramer, Vinyl by William Michael Morgan, and Was it 26 by Chris Stapleton.

* * *

Chapter 82

"I'm very pleased to say that I have a special guest joinin' me on stage tonight. Damn near every other artist on the label has gotten a chance to work with him, but this was my first time. I'm happy to say that he didn't disappoint. Help me welcome to the stage, Mr. JC Grayson." Juliette pumped up the crowd.

JC walked out on the stage with his guitar strapped around his neck. "Before I start this song. I just wanna say what a huge honor it is to have an artist like Juliette ask me to write a song with her. It may not seem like a big deal to ya'll, but it's a huge deal to someone like me."

"Listenin' to you sayin' all the right things. You gettin' the hang of this marriage thing pretty fast aren't you?" Juliette teased him.

"Ain't no one ever accused me of bein' stupid." JC laughed.

"Boy, let's sing this song instead of borin' all these people to death." Juliette shook her head at him.

"We can do that." JC started to play and the band backed him up. _"Yeah, we got drunk on La Cienega Boulevard takin' pictures of people we thought were stars. It's easy to give in to your heart when you're drunk on La Cienega Boulevard."_

" _When the song comin' outta the speakers was the band you had on your t-shirt. We were screamin' 'cause all the streets were empty and you kissed me and we were."_ Juliette's voice joined in.

" _Up all night and we were feelin' so good. Yeah, we got a little higher than we probably should. We were in a hotel singin' in the hallway lights. We were strikin' the matches right down to the ashes. Settin' the world on fire, settin' the world on fire."_ Juliette wailed.

" _Wrote I love you in lipstick on the mirror. We were shoutin' out the window like they could hear us at the pier. Said do you think we'll live forever as we killed another beer. And you wrote I love you in lipstick on the mirror."_ JC took over again.

" _And we were laughin' until we were breathless. Never felt anything so reckless we were all lit up and restless. And comin' alive and we were,"_ Juliette and JC's voices blended perfectly together.

" _Up all night and we were feelin' so good. Yeah, we got a little higher than we probably should. We were in a hotel singin' in the hallway lights. We were strikin' the matches right down to the ashes. Settin' the world on fire, settin' the world on fire. Oh, yeah, yeah,"_

" _Yeah, we were up all night and we were feelin' so good."_ JC sang.

" _Yeah, we got a little higher than we probably should."_ Juliette answered back.

" _We were in a hotel singin' in the hallway lights. We were strikin' the matches right down to the ashes settin' the world on fire."_ JC and Juliette came together again. _"World on fire,"_

" _We were settin',"_ JC sang.

" _The world on fire,"_ They sang together.

" _We were settin',"_

" _The world on fire, world on fire,"_ They ended the song together.

The crowd erupted.

"Well, JC, I think they liked that." Juliette chuckled.

"I think so too." JC agreed.

"Thanks, for joinin' me tonight. I know that it's your night off." Juliette hugged him.

"It was my pleasure." JC retorted.

* * *

" _Everybody down in Houston calls him Texas. Everybody way up north calls him cornbread. You shoulda heard the way that his momma calls him baby, daddy calls him boy, his friends call him crazy."_ Rayna was in the studio recording her part of her and Deacon's album.

" _Shoulda just called it like I saw it. Shoulda just called help and ran like hell that day. The burn and the sting and the high and the heat and the left me wantin' more feelin' way he kissed me. I shoulda just called him whiskey."_

" _Warm my body to the core just like a blanket. It tasted so sweet then you took my breath away. Hit me so hard like a rock through a window. I knew I was in trouble from the moment I met you, boy."_ She closed her eyes as she sang. She knew that Deacon was in the sound booth and she didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes.

" _Shoulda just called it like I saw it. Shoulda just called help and ran like hell that day. The burn and the sting and the high and the heat and the left me wantin' more feelin' way he kissed me. I shoulda just called him whiskey."_

"Deacon, I don't know what you did to fix her, but she's back and better than ever. This is vintage Rayna Jaymes." Bucky commented to him.

"She has always had this in her she just had to find it." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

" _Now the numbs set in. He's gone like the wind. And I can barely feel the pain. Shoulda just called it like I saw it. I shoulda just called help and ran like hell that day. The burn and the sting and the high and the heat and the left me wantin' more feelin' way he kissed me. Oh, the burn and the sting and the high and the heat and the left me wantin' more feelin' way he kissed me. I shoulda just called him whiskey. Shoulda just called him whiskey. I shoulda just called him whiskey."_ Rayna had to wipe away her tears before her husband saw them.

Deacon stabbed the intercom button with his finger. "That was incredible, babe."

Rayna walked into the room with him before she replied. "Thanks, baby, I really appreciate that."

"I guess it's my turn now." Deacon stole a kiss from her.

"Go in there and show me what you've got, babe." Rayna winked at him.

"I'd show what I got, but I think it'd make Bucky blush." Deacon said suggestively.

"I'm so used to this type of behavior from you two that it doesn't even bother me anymore." Bucky just shook his head.

"I should be ashamed of that, but I'm not." Deacon smirked and walked into the recording booth.

"Since, I know more about you than I want to know. I'm gonna tell you something about me that you probably don't want to know. Actually, I'm going to ask you for a favor. I need you to tell your sister that us being intimate isn't going to hurt the baby." Bucky blurted out and then he put his hand over his mouth.

Rayna gave him a look. "Relax, you're not gonna be in trouble for that. She told me that she's pregnant. And I'm sure that you told my husband. I'm really happy for you, brother. I'll talk to my ridiculous sister for you without letting her know that it came from you."

"You're starting to sound like Deacon." Bucky laughed softly.

"It's a hazard of bein' around him so damn long. His sons do it too. It's really damn adorable when the little one only sees one of the twins and asks where's brother." Rayna informed him.

"That kid is a little character. It kinda scares the hell outta me knowin' that I have one on the way that could be somethin' like that." Bucky retorted.

"It's not as bad as you think it is. I may wanna kill him when he's a teenager, but he's the light of my life." Rayna told him.

"Rayna, thank you." Bucky hugged her.

"She's my big sister and you've done more for me that I had any right to ask of you. There was never any question about it. Deacon and I were both more than happy to help you two start a family.

" _If our love was a song girl. I'd play it all night long girl. I tell you what I'd put on girl. I'd put it on vinyl. A little rock a little Motown you got that baby pull me close sound. You make the whole room go round and round like vinyl."_ Deacon started singing in the booth.

" _What we got is a little old fashioned. Baby you're an instant classic. They don't make 'em no more like you. So, let the needle drop and play it all night. Might have a little static, but it's alright. Ain't nothin' gonna stop this groove."_ Deacon sang from his soul.

"Ray, I don't know why he didn't make it as a solo artist sooner. He's got it." Bucky commented.

"He was hopelessly devoted to me." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

" _The whole world outta know your name. Like a band in the hall of fame on vinyl. Go on and let hair fall girl. Oh, you're beautiful you got it all girl. I'd hand the cover on the wall girl. Just like vinyl."_ Deacon met Rayna's eyes.

"He's more than making up for that now." Bucky observed.

"He sure is." Rayna agreed.

" _What we got is a little old fashioned. Baby you're an instant classic. They don't make 'em no more like you. So, let the needle drop and play it all night. Might have a little static, but it's alright. Ain't nothin' gonna stop this groove."_

" _Let the needle drop and play it all night. Might have a little static, but it's alright. Ain't nothin' gonna stop our groove, no. If our love was a song girl. I'd play it all night long girl. I tell you what I'd put it on girl. I'd put it on vinyl. When you say my it's the sweetest sound. Aw girl you got me spinnin' round and round like vinyl. Ain't nothin' gonna stop this groove. No, they don't make 'em no more like you. Like vinyl."_ Deacon finished up his song.

Rayna looked down as her phone buzzed in her hand. "Buck, can you let him know I think it was great? I have to go take this call."

"Sure thing, Ray." Bucky reassured her.

Rayna waited until she was down the hall to answer her phone. "Hey, Mike, this is Rayna." She listened to what her doctor had to say in disbelief. "Are you sure?" She listened again and nodded along. "Ok, I understand, thanks for callin'. I'll make the appropriate appoint for that." She hung up without another word.

* * *

"Well, what in the world is this?" Tandy walked into Bucky's office, she had only intended to leave some papers on his desk. Instead she found her nephews and nieces.

"Uncle Bucky is payin' us to go through demos. He said that we've forgotten more 'bout country music than most people will ever know." Charlie answered for them.

"We are supposed to make three piles. One for momma, one for daddy, and one for Uncle Bucky. Momma gets the pop, R and B, and pop country. Daddy gets country, southern rock, and rock. Uncle Bucky gets whatever we don't know what to do with." Deac explained.

"And we have to write down the artist name on a sticky note and put it on the CD case." Jayme added.

"And what is Jack's job?" Tandy asked.

"Uncle Bucky said that I'm the supervisor." Jack piped up.

"I'll tell you what. Jack is gonna come help me and that way you guys can get more work done. When it's lunch time I will send one of the personal assistants in here to see what you want to eat. Does that sound ok to you guys?" Tandy offered her hand to Jack.

Jack took her hand.

"It sounds good to me." Deac replied.

"I'm ok with that too." Charlie agreed.

"Me three," Jayme sided with his siblings.

"Ok, I will leave you to it then. It looks like you three have a lot of work to do." Tandy told them. "Jack, I am gonna teach you a usable trade yet. Today we are gonna do payroll checks and royalty checks. Then I will show you what we do with your biggest sister's money since she can't handle it." She spoke to her youngest nephew and led him to her office.

Tandy looked up a couple hours later when she heard someone walk into her office. "What do you want?"

"You sound like you're in a really great mood. The hormones must be takin' hold already." Rayna sat down.

"Don't even start with me on my hormones. I'm convinced that there is something wrong with this baby. I haven't so much as been sick to my stomach." Tandy groaned.

"Babe, it's perfectly normal to go a whole pregnancy without havin' mornin' sickness. I was miserably pregnant with all my girls. Maddie and Daphne cause of the mornin' sickness and Charlie cause it was in the heat of the summer. I had some nausea with the twins, but Jack was such an easy pregnancy." Rayna tried to reassure her.

"You sound like my OB. I'm just worried that because of my age that something is gonna go wrong." Tandy admitted.

"I happen to know what I'm talkin' 'bout. I'm kinda an expert." Rayna smiled at her. "So, I know that I ask a lot of ya, but I need a favor for tonight."

"After everything you've done for me. You get to ask me for whatever you want." Tandy replied.

"This favor isn't that huge, but it's a favor." Rayna told her.

"Like I said whatever you want." Tandy retorted.

"Where are my children?" Rayna asked.

"They are in Bucky's office having lunch. I'm sure you're aware of this, but he put them to work." Tandy answered.

"It's good for them. It teaches them some work ethic." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"You just tell me what this favor is." Tandy laughed and shook her head.

* * *

" _Livin' hard was easy when I was young and bullet proof. I had no chains to bind me, just a guitar and a roof. Emptied every bottle when I poured I never missed. I had bloodshot eyes at twenty-five or was it twenty-six?"_ Deacon sat on the stage at the Mile Marker.

" _Didn't seem to matter what price I had to pay anythin' worth havin' I'd just lose anyway. Friends worried about me. They'd ask if I was sick. Thought I would die at twenty-five or was it twenty-six?"_ This was one of those songs that he'd had to tap into the pain of the past to get.

" _Those two years run together like whiskey over ice melted into memories like somebody else's life. I'm glad to say I've come around, but if I could have one wish. I'd like another try at twenty-five or was it twenty-six?"_ He sang from his soul. He looked out and found Rayna in the crowd and winked at her.

" _Met a girl from Georgia smart and pretty college grad. I thought my luck was changin' up 'til then it all been bad. I guess I fell in love with her all it took was just one kiss. But then she said goodbye at twenty-five or was it twenty-six?"_

Rayna blew him a kiss. She knew that this hadn't been an easy song for him.

" _Those two years run together like whiskey over ice melted into memories like somebody else's life. I'm glad to say I've come around, but if I could have one wish. I'd like another try at twenty-five or was it twenty-six?"_

" _I've been down that road before almost as far as hell. Deception or redemption I guess only time will tell. I have faith in the knowledge that God gave us a gift. I couldn't hide at twenty-five or was it twenty-six? Those two years run together like whiskey over ice. Melted into memories like somebody else's life. I'm glad to say I've come around, but if I could have one wish. I'd like another try at twenty-five or was it twenty-six?"_ Deacon strummed his guitar softly to finish the song.

"That was really good, daddy." Charlie wrapped herself around Deacon's waist.

"Thank you, Pistol," Deacon hugged her tightly and walked over to the table with her standing on top of his boots.

"He is so taken with that girl that it's not funny." Tandy commented to her sister.

"She's just as taken with him. He likes to say that the little one is gonna go to college still on my boob, but she will be the type to go to college and call him every day just to talk." Rayna replied.

"It least it won't be 'cause she always needs somethin' like Maddie." Deacon teased.

"You cater to Daphne the way I cater to Maddie." Rayna defended herself.

"Daphne, requires less favors than Maddie does." Deacon retorted.

Riff walked over from behind the bar. "So, I'm short staffed right now. Momma June is supposed to be doin' interviews this week. I was really hopin' that I could get some help." He looked at Deac, Jayme, and Charlie.

"Take 'em, this is gonna belong to them one day. It's time for them to learn the family business." Deacon told him.

"Remember they can be behind the bar you just can't have 'em pour anythin'." Rayna reminded him.

"I know, I know, I just need some dishes washed and some tables cleared off. I know that they know how to do that." Riff nodded his head in understanding.

"You guys heard, Uncle Riff. You know what to do." Deacon sent the kids off.

"Babe, while the kids are occupied, what do you say you and I take a walk?" Rayna suggested.

"Yeah, we can do that. I would love to do that." Deacon took her hand. "Riff, when you pay them it's out of the envelope in the office and not outta the til."

"I may like ladies of the night and coke, but I know how to handle this place." Riff assured him.

"Riff, they are little, for God's sake." Tandy pointed out to him.

"It's ok, Aunt Tandy, we know what an addict is. Daddy is a recoverin' alcoholic and Uncle Riff is a recoverin' drug addict." Charlie threw out there.

Deacon shrugged his shoulders. "I don't try to hide it from 'em. They know that daddy and Pa can't drink. They know to make sure that they grab my root beer bottles outta the fridge and not Jimmy's beer bottles."

"I learn from my mistakes. We don't lie to them." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Rayna, you and Deacon go on your walk. We will keep an eye on them. Plus, I wanna see the act that signed up tonight. I think from what I've heard about them that they could do a lot under Deacon's watchful eye." Bucky told her.

"We shouldn't be more than a couple of hours." Rayna assured him.

"Take your time, Babe. You know that we love having our niece and nephews." Tandy replied.

* * *

"I'm so glad that I was able to catch you both in the same city with your young men so close to DC." Teddy smiled at Maddie and Daphne from across the table.

Teddy turned to the woman who sat next to him. "Claire, I'm very pleased to finally be able to introduce you to my daughters Maddie and Daphne. The young man in the cowboy hat is Maddie's husband, JC. The other young man is Joel." He smiled. "Maddie, Daphne, this is my fiancé Claire Adamson."

"Fiancé?" Maddie arched her eyebrow at him.

"Yes, Claire and I have been together since I first came to DC. She has two boys that are close to your ages. Connor is twenty-two and Greg is twenty." Teddy replied.

Maddie reached over and gripped Daphne's hand. Her two boys were Daphne's age and he had walked away from her after he'd gotten out of prison.

Daphne squeezed her hand. "That's nice for you, dad."

"I'm very pleased to finally meet you girls. I'm sorry that the boys couldn't make it tonight. I hope there will be time for that while you're here." Claire smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too." Maddie forced a smile.

"I don't know what Maddie and Jimmy have going on, but I can hang around for an extra day." Daphne replied.

"We have an extra day that we can hang around." Maddie wasn't about to let her baby sister suffer through that alone.

"I have a meetin' with Levi to front an ad campaign for 'em, but other than that I ain't got nothin' else to do. I just have to be back in Nashville by the Fourth for the annual takeover of Claybourne Cove." JC chuckled.

"You mean your annual show of will you and Will finally succeed in blowing a hole in the canoe by shooting fireworks at each other?" Daphne asked him.

"I think that I'm gonna need to participate in that." Joel bumped knuckles with JC.

"Don't encourage him, Joel." Maddie warned him.

"I think I heard a thing or two about that from your mother." Teddy laughed.

"You probably did. She is not fond of their antics." Maddie replied.

"Teddy tells me that you girls started out as a duo before you went solo." Claire tried to make conversation.

"Technically Maddie's first album came out before our first album together, but we still write and perform together all the time." Daphne answered. For whatever reason, she couldn't put her finger on the older woman made her more than a little uncomfortable.

"That must have been so nice for you two." Claire observed.

"For a long time it was the one constant that we could count on." Maddie didn't pull her punches.

"Maddie," Daphne and JC both called her down.

"What?" Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"When you call it like it is like that I don't know who you sound more like your mother or your father." Teddy just shook his head.

"You ask either one of them they'll just blame on each other. Let's just say that I come by it naturally and leave it at that." Maddie retorted.

* * *

Deacon and Rayna stood side by side leaning against the railing of the pedestrian bridge.

He just stared at her struck again, like he was every day by her beauty. He could tell from the crease in her forehead that there was something on her mind. "Ray, everythin' ok? You look deep in thought." He could tell her moods from just one look at her.

She turned to look at him and scanned her eyes over the features of his handsome face. A face she knew like the back of her hand. "I was just thinkin', darlin'. I do that sometimes."

"Thinkin' 'bout what?" Deacon knitted his eyebrows together.

"Thinkin' 'bout how fast those four monkeys we still have at home are growin' and by how thankful I am that we had 'em. And how you are the best husband and father that a woman could ask for." Rayna reached up and cupped his cheek gently. She ran her hand across his stubble.

"There a reason for you thinkin' this or what?" Deacon's eyes clouded over with confusion.

Rayna reached into her back pocket and put something in his hand. "That should answer your questions."

Deacon looked at the grainy black and white picture in his hand. "Ray, is this what I think it is?"

"Yeah, babe, it is. We're havin' a baby and it complicates everythin', but I can't help bein' happy." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Bein' careful and usin' condoms has never been our strong suit." Deacon laughed and kissed her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too and I'm glad that you're excited by this. It pushes that world tour back by a year, but I'll be damned if I care." Rayna brushed her nose against his.

"Darlin', I don't give a damn 'bout that. You need me to be the stay at home parent for a little while I will be. None of that matters right now. The only thing that matters is we're havin' a baby." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up.

"We are and I couldn't be happier." Rayna giggled.

"I just realized that every time you've told me that you were pregnant it's been on this bridge or in Charlie's case a fishin' pier." Deacon commented.

"What can I say? This is our spot and it seems to be good luck. We've had four healthy babies and I couldn't break tradition now." Rayna hugged him tightly.

"We are gonna have another healthy one." Deacon reassured her.

"I don't have a doubt in my mind." Rayna agreed with him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	83. Chapter 83

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 83

"Good mornin', Baby Claybourne, this is your daddy. I know that you weren't exactly planned, but I'm very excited to meet you. You're another piece of your momma walkin' this earth and that is a very good thing as far as I'm concerned." Deacon lay in bed next to Rayna talking to his unborn child.

The morning sun spilled in through the curtains that covered the double doors off the balcony. He kept his voice low, so he didn't wake Rayna. The last thing he wanted to do was disturb her slumber. She needed all the rest she could get. He'd had a few days to digest the information that he was going to be a father again and he couldn't be happier about it. He didn't care if it meant he had to take a backseat again and be the stay at home parent.

He looked up when Rayna put her hand on top of his. "Mornin', baby," He smiled.

"What are you doin' down there?" Rayna used her other hand to stroke his hair.

"I was just havin' a talk with Baby Claybourne." Deacon replied.

"Did Baby Claybourne have anythin' to say back?" Rayna laughed lightly.

"No, he ain't much of a talker yet, but in time I'll get a kick in response to my voice." Deacon rubbed her belly.

"It could be a girl." Rayna pointed out to him.

"I don't care either way. All I want is a healthy baby." Deacon assured her.

"I really don't care either. Healthy is perfect no matter what the sex is." Rayna agreed with him.

"You're perfect." Deacon kissed her belly.

"You're pretty damn perfect, yourself." Rayna pulled him up and kissed him.

"Mmm, that's the way I like to start my days." Deacon smiled against her lips.

"I'll be damned if you ain't in a great mood today. I agree with that statement too." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeper.

"Don't you start somethin'. We ain't got time for that right now. You are due in the studio early and I get the unfortunate task of hangin' out with my daddy and brother." Deacon rubbed her back.

"I was just kissin' ya. You are the one with the dirty mind." Rayna drug her nails down his back.

"It's hard not to have a dirty mind when you have a wife as hot as mine." Deacon rolled over on his back.

Rayna moved over and put her head on his chest. "I have a husband who is pretty damn hot too."

The bedroom door flew open.

"I think it's a pretty good thing that we didn't take that any further." Deacon laughed softly.

"Momma, daddy, the boys are bein' little jerks." Charlie reported.

"Charlie, don't call your brother names." Rayna chastised her automatically.

"What did they do?" Deacon asked at the same time.

"It ain't really the boys, it's Jayme. He said that I ain't as good a shot as he is 'cause I'm a girl." Charlie crossed her arms over her chest. The indignant look on her face was identical to her father's.

"Close the door and come get in bed with momma and daddy." Rayna pulled the covers back and patted the spot in between her and Deacon.

Charlie shut the door and crawled into the bed in the middle of her parents. "They are so mean." She grumbled.

"Charlie, listen to daddy. If there is anythin' that your brothers can do better than you it's not 'cause they're boys and you're a girl it's 'cause they are just better and that's ok. You are every bit as good as they are and I don't ever want you to forget that. This is a man's world, but it takes women like you to show these backwards jackasses that they are wrong." Deacon kissed her forehead.

"I can't say it any better than your daddy just did. He's right. You are worth as much as your brothers are. They are no better than you because they're boys. They know better than to say things like that. You guys aren't the same, but you are equals." Rayna cuddled her. She'd made no secret throughout her career that she was a feminist and she'd obviously rubbed off on her husband.

"What do girls do when they don't have parents to tell them how much they are worth?" Charlie wondered. She was very smart for her age.

"They either figure it out for themselves or sadly they don't." Deacon answered her. A clear picture of her mother and the things she'd let his father do to her flashed through his mind.

"You are very lucky to have a momma who is helpin' to break that glass ceilin' and a daddy who doesn't think twice 'bout doin' things with you that he'd do with your brothers. Bein' a feminist like I am doesn't mean that you wanna be a man it means that you wanna have it acknowledged that you have the same worth." Rayna explained to her.

"I love huntin' and fishin' with your brothers, but you're one of my favorite buddies. I always say that I couldn't have a bird dog any better than you." Deacon flashed her a smile.

"So, Jayme is just bein' a dumb boy who doesn't know any better even though he should." Charlie observed.

"Don't call your brother names like that, but you aren't wrong." Rayna turned her face toward hers and rubbed their noses together. On this one thing, she was better able to understand her daughter than Deacon was. It made her feel good. Every time she thought that there was just no way she could connect with Charlie an opportunity presented itself.

"Why don't you go outside and practice with your bow? Momma and I will be up shortly." Deacon suggested to her.

"Yeah, I'd really love that." Charlie jumped out of bed.

"You're really good at makin' her see her worth. You're good with all our girls when it comes to that." Rayna ran her hand over the stubble on his cheek.

Deacon stared deeply into her eyes. "I lied before when I said I didn't care what the baby is. I want another girl. The world could use more women like you."

"Babe, you are so damn sweet." Rayna pecked his lips. "I'm takin' her with me to work today just to show her that sometimes women can do it better."

"Please do, she's tough, but she needs her momma to show her the way. I know that she's my clone and attached to my side, but she does still need you." Deacon reassured her.

"I know that, it's just nice to know that she does need me every now and then." Rayna kissed him again.

"Of course, she needs you, you're her momma. Someone has to show her how to be a good woman. You two might not be exactly the same, but you are the same type of woman." Deacon rested his forehead against hers.

* * *

"I don't understand why we have to be up this early in the mornin' it's our damn day off." JC grumbled.

"Is your problem that we have to be up so early or that we are at the country club?" Maddie asked him.

"I can honestly say both." JC retorted.

"I align myself with Jimmy. Just in case anyone was wonderin'." Joel threw out there.

"You would," Daphne rolled her eyes and laughed softly.

"Do we need to go over ground rules before we go in there?" Maddie took charge.

"The only one of us who needs ground rules is you." JC pointed out to her.

"I will try my very best to open my mouth and not have my father come out." Maddie sighed.

"That's good enough." Daphne took Joel's hand.

"Let's go in and get this over with." Joel said.

Teddy stood up from the table with a huge smile on his face. "There you guys are. I was starting to think that you weren't going to make it."

"We are musicians we sleep until after noon when we're working and later than that when we have time off." Daphne explained to him.

"And they happen to be related to their mother. I've never been anywhere with Momma Ray that she's been on time." JC supplied helpfully.

"I think you're talkin' 'bout your wife when you say things like that." Joel elbowed him in the ribs playfully.

"I will not argue that." JC laughed.

"Christ, dad, this is early for anyone." Connor groused. He was the older of the two boys who sat at the table with Teddy and Claire.

Daphne looked a little crestfallen when she heard him refer to Teddy as dad.

JC had to take Maddie's hand and squeeze it to keep her temper from erupting.

Joel put a comforting arm around Daphne's shoulders.

"So, I heard before we left the house numerous times, Connor." Teddy shook his head amused. "Connor, Greg, I would for you to meet your sisters, Maddie and Daphne. And the two guys with them are JC and Joel."

"It's nice to meet you." Connor nodded in their direction.

"Yeah, dad talks about you a lot." Greg chimed in.

"I can't say that he's ever mentioned you. It's nice to meet you too." Maddie plastered a fake smile on her face.

"It's really nice to meet you." Daphne mustered up her best cheerful voice.

"I'm gonna like you a lot. You're dating the quarterback from my fantasy league he made me a lot of money last year." Connor laughed.

"Now, you can impress all your friends by saying your sister is dating him." Teddy patted him on the back.

"I'm so glad to have all the kids together finally." Claire smiled.

"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." Teddy agreed with her.

JC looked at Maddie warily. He could tell that her temper was on the edge of erupting. He didn't know that he would be able to stop her once she got going.

Daphne looked at her sister to see what she would do.

Maddie just smiled tightly.

"You guys don't just have to stand around have a seat." Claire urged them.

"Where we come from that woulda been ya'll instead of you guys." JC chuckled.

"Only if it's not Pa whose talking. No one knows what he's saying sometimes." Daphne reminded him.

"I only understand about every other word that comes out of Pa's mouth." Maddie's expression softened some.

"I understand him plain as day." Joel supplied.

"Connor, do you know who Maddie's best friend is?" Teddy asked the older of the two boys.

"I have no clue." Connor shrugged.

"Shooter McCoy," Teddy told him.

"Wow," Connor gasped.

"He's not my best friend he's one of my best friends. Casey Miller is another." Maddie corrected.

"Isn't he…" Greg started to ask, but Maddie cut him off.

"Chose you next words very carefully. My husband is a Green Beret and Mack's husband is his best friend. If you say something that he doesn't like I can't control him." Maddie warned him.

"I was just gonna ask if the rumors were true about him being made captain. Well, that was after I asked if he was a fairy." Greg clarified.

"No one calls him that to his face at least not twice. He hits like a gorilla. I'm the only one allowed to call him or Will any type of name like that. At which point I'm told to get my balls outta Maddie's purse. My response to that is her purses cost more than my truck and Harley no way she would keep my balls in there. Anyway, I'll put it to you this way they only way Mack or Will differ from other men is that they appreciate an ass more than a nice rack." JC used the crudest terms possible without being vulgar.

"I told you I couldn't control him." Maddie squeezed his knee.

"You kiss my daughter with that mouth?" Teddy asked.

"She's heard worse from her daddy. Part of the reason he said yes when I asked for her hand in marriage was 'cause he knew I could handle her." JC smirked.

"You said that Casey Miller is one of your best friends?" Connor asked.

"I did," Maddie confirmed.

"I'm sure that this is no surprise to you, but she's hot." Connor chuckled.

"I've heard that a time or two. That's usually the first thing anyone says about Casey." Maddie gave another forced smile.

"I'd give my left nut to get her in the sack." Connor retorted.

"Connor Michael," Claire hissed at him.

"He's fine I have three brothers and one of my best friends is a man. I'm more than used to language like that." Maddie reassured her.

"Connor knows better." Claire glared at her son.

"That must be a mother thing. My mom freaked out because my baby brother said the word sex." Maddie was just mentioning Rayna to be a button pusher.

They managed to make it through breakfast without any incident.

"I've decided that since I've behaved myself like the well-bred young woman I was raised to be that I have earned a drink. Dad, will you show me where the bar is?" Maddie was making her move now.

"Sure, of course," Teddy offered his arm to her.

"Maddie," Daphne looked at her sister uneasily.

"It's fine, Daph, don't worry about it." Maddie took Teddy's arm.

"Give me a double single malt scotch straight up." Teddy requested once they were at the bar. "Maddie, is that ok with you?" He asked to clarify.

"Give me a double bourbon straight up." Maddie ordered.

Teddy looked at her and laughed. "We drink scotch in this family, you know?"

"I am my father's daughter. I drink bourbon and I like it way more than I should." Maddie shrugged.

"You know it hurts me when you say things like that?" Teddy arched his eyebrow.

"It shouldn't you have the two sons that you obviously always wanted. I have every right in this world to be like my father. I have every right to love him as much as I do. You were the one who helped yourself to something that wasn't yours. Mom was young and terrified of raising a child on her own. You took advantage of that. I won't entirely fault you for marrying her, because I got Daph outta that and I love her so much. I would do anything in this world for her." Maddie answered him.

Teddy waited until their drinks were delivered to reply. "Maddie, I did what I thought was best. Deacon was in no position to be a father back then. Are you seriously jealous of Connor and Greg? You got your real father and you moved on from me. What was I supposed to do? I can't imagine that it's going to be long before you start having children then where will I stand?"

"This isn't about me. This is about the way you've treated Daphne. She is your flesh and blood. You abandoned her and you don't get to blame dad for that. You'll argue that he did for her what you did for me, but that isn't the same. You had a choice you asked him to be the father that Daph needed in her life. No one asked him if he wanted to be there for me the choice was made for him. You can't understand that maybe there is room in my heart to love the both of you. You think that because you stepped in that it entitles you to some sort of free pass. When I have kids that is something that we will have to work out. With the way things are going with you dad is going to be the only grandfather that my kids know on my side and he will damn sure be more important. That is entirely up to you. What I want you to think about is how you've made my sister feel. There is no excuse for that, you miserable piece of shit. That's all I have to say on the matter." Maddie picked her drink up and drained it. She walked away before he had a chance to reply.

* * *

"Hey, can I get you boys anythin'?" Sadie stuck her head into the music room where Deacon, Rhett, and Paul were.

"No thanks, baby sister, I'm good." Deacon looked up from his guitar and smiled at her.

"Rhett, Paul?" Sadie looked between the other two men.

"I'm good, sweetheart," Paul winked at her.

"I'm fine too, baby." Rhett assured her.

"I have your pain pills for you and you need to take them." Sadie handed him two pills and a bottle of water.

Rhett threw the pills in his mouth and washed them down with the water. He stuck his tongue out and showed her that he had taken them. "Happy?"

"Very happy," Sadie kissed the top of his head. "What are you three up to?"

"We are just shootin' the shit and writin' some music." Deacon answered her.

"With you three that scares the hell outta me." Sadie shook her head.

Gracie ran into the room and right into Deacon's arms. "Uncle Deacon,"

"Gracie Rose," Deacon scooped her up in his arms and kissed both her cheeks.

"What are you doin' here?" Gracie asked him.

"I'm playin' 'round with your daddy and Pa. Is that ok with ya?" Deacon tickled under her chin.

"That's ok with me." Gracie nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Deacon, I'll never understand it, but my kids adore you." Sadie observed.

"My kids adore me too and I don't understand that either." Deacon chuckled.

"From what I understand from Scarlett he is a pretty great uncle." Rhett chimed in.

"He's a pretty damn good man from where I stand." Paul said.

"I guess we can keep him around." Sadie hugged Deacon from behind and kissed the top of his head.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, ya'll." Deacon blushed furiously.

"DJ, you're a better man than you give yourself credit for." Paul pointed out to him.

"I'm a better man than you anyway." Deacon teased him.

"That ain't hard to do." Paul shrugged and stuck out his bottom lip like it didn't matter.

"I will leave ya'll to what you were doin' and get outta your hair." Sadie held out her arms to her daughter. "Gracie Rose, come with momma."

"Sadie, let her stay. She may learn a thing or two from her daddy, her uncle, and her Pa." Rhett waved his wife off.

"Ok, I will leave ya'll to it. Holler if you need anythin'." Sadie threw a wave over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	84. Chapter 84

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 84

"Thank you for taking the time to meet me. I know you're as busy as I am." Teddy stood and waited for Rayna to take a seat across from him.

"I figured that this had to be important or you wouldn't have called me." Rayna offered him a smile.

"Would you be shocked if I said that this is about Maddie?" Teddy sipped his coffee.

"That wouldn't shock me at all. I know how Maddie can be." Rayna shrugged.

"You know that I saw the girls when they were in town. Did they say anything to you about that?" Teddy asked her.

"Yeah, I heard 'bout that. I also heard that she said some things that were very Deacon like." Rayna retorted.

"She called me a piece of shit. It was like she had been holding all that back and she just unleashed it. I don't know what her problem is." Teddy looked to be at a loss.

"You hurt Daphne and Maddie doesn't allow that to happen on her watch. She is very much her father's daughter when it comes to the people she loves. Teddy, whatever this is between you and the girls you're the only one who can fix it. I understand that the nature of your and Maddie's relationship has changed, but Daphne is your daughter. You could have run all of this by them first." Rayna explained to him.

"Like you've gotten every move you've made approved by them." Teddy snorted.

"I didn't have to. I tried my best to keep them in the loop with what was goin' on in my life. I will admit that they weren't happy with me when they thought I was gonna marry Luke, but Deacon did ask for their permission to marry me. You're doin' the same thing to them now that you did to them with Peggy. Why is it so hard for you to just man up and face them?" Rayna signaled to the waitress for a cup of coffee.

"I don't know why I thought I'd come to you and you'd take my side instead of telling me things I rather not hear." Teddy chuckled lightly.

"We raised those girls to speak their mind. Deacon taught 'em no one messes with us, but us. And I taught 'em that family forgives. The thing of it is, they can forgive you, but that doesn't mean it'll repair the damage that's been done. You lied to them for years. This isn't somethin' I can smooth over for you." Rayna arched her eyebrow. She smiled when the waitress sat her coffee in front of her.

"I really hate it when you're right." Teddy reached into his inner jacket pocket for something. "Speaking of family. I promised your oldest boy that I would bring him something from DC the next time I came through. You can tell him that the President himself used this pen to sign a bill into law."

"First of all, I've told you to stop spoilin' them. And give it to him yourself. You're comin' to dinner and I'm gonna try to do my best to spread some oil on troubled waters." Rayna sighed.

"They are my girls' siblings I don't mind doin' it. Deac is really interested in what I do. All the other kids aren't impressed with it. There you go saving my ass once again." Teddy sighed.

"I'm startin' to think it's my job." Rayna had to will down a wave of nausea.

"You ok? You're looking a little sick to your stomach?" Teddy questioned her.

"I'm fine. Sadie and I just had a little too much to drink last night." Rayna covered quickly.

"Or you're pregnant. I remember what you were like with Maddie and Daphne." Teddy teased her.

"You're a pain in the ass. You know that?" Rayna snorted.

"I know you think so." Teddy laughed.

"Teddy, I'm warnin' you don't toy with those girls if you don't mean it. You will lose them for good if you do." Rayna changed the subject by giving him a little word to the wise.

"I'm doing my best with them." Teddy replied.

"Try including them in your plans. You walked away and basically wrote them off these are the consequences of that decision." Rayna leveled with him.

"I really, really hate it when you're right." Teddy groaned.

* * *

"You're late," Deacon looked up from the magazine he was reading.

"I know, I'm sorry. I had to deal with Teddy. He's a pain in the ass when he wants to be and you know that." Rayna took a seat next to him.

"I got you signed in already. We shouldn't have much longer to wait." Deacon reached over and took her hand.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, babe." Rayna leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Deacon lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You would be as lost without me as I would be without you."

"Mrs. Claybourne, the doctor will see you now." The nurse stepped out into the waiting room.

They followed the nurse back to the exam room. Rayna changed into a paper gown. They didn't have to wait for long before Dr. Monroe came in.

"I'm just about ready to recommend that one of you go on a long tour without the other. I don't know what I'm gonna do with you. I thought I was done giving you these kind of services after Jack was born." Dr. Monroe mock scolded them.

"Blame my sister." Rayna offered in way of a defense.

"That's the first time I've ever heard that excuse, but I'll allow it." Dr. Monroe laughed at her.

"You give us an awful lotta lip, Doc." Deacon grinned teasingly.

"You need it to keep you in line." Dr. Monroe smiled at him. "Alright, today is an easy appointment. I don't have to do a vaginal exam. This is just an ultrasound." She grabbed the gel and the wand.

"His mother is just about the only person he halfway listens to." Rayna held out her hand for Deacon to take it.

Deacon took her hand and kissed her forehead. "I'm not the only one with a strong personality."

"Rayna, you know the drill. This is gonna be just a little cold." Dr. Monroe squirted the gel on her stomach and moved the wand around. "Everything looks really, really good. The baby is right on track for where it should be. You're doing a good job of taking care of yourself, momma. Daddy, make sure that she doesn't have any undue stress on her. You always do a great job of that."

"I wait on her hand and foot." Deacon assured her.

"I will print these out and let you two make your next appointment on the way out." Dr. Monroe told them.

"We will do that." Rayna replied.

"Deacon, I know the name of a doctor who does vasectomies." Dr. Monroe teased him.

Deacon cupped his crotch protectively. "I don't think so."

"You're talkin' to a brick wall. I already tried to get him to do it and he won't." Rayna chimed in.

"I was just giving him a hard time." Dr. Monroe retorted.

* * *

"Will! I swear to God I'm gonna kill your stupid ass one of these days." Maddie yelled at Will after he threw a firecracker at her.

"Sorry, Maddie, I wasn't aimin' for you. I was aimin' for your husband. He had it comin' to him." Will held up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"You mess with Maddie at your own risk." JC called out from behind his wife.

"Will, if you hurt my Maddie I will divorce your ass." Mack threatened him playfully.

"Jimmy, stop hidin' behind your wife and come out and fight me like a man." Will called him out.

JC let out a loud whistle. "Now!"

Will had to run behind a tree to avoid a barrage of firecrackers and roman candles. "What the hell, Jimmy? You even got my own godson in on this?" He pointed to Deac.

"War is hell, Will." JC doubled over laughing.

"If you juveniles set anythin' on fire Deacon will break his foot off in your ass." Rayna called out in warning.

"He wouldn't dream of doing anything to his precious Pistol and she is right in the middle of it." Maddie pointed out.

"Just try to behave yourselves and not get the lake patrol called on you this year for a change." Rayna gave up with them. There was no use in trying to get them to behave they did what they wanted to anyway. "Deacon, come make your children behave!"

Deacon walked over laughing. "Ya'll know the rules don't throw any fireworks by momma. I will not be held responsible for anythin' that she does to you if you harm her hair."

"You of all people don't get to talk 'bout my hair." Rayna gave him a look.

Maddie looked between her parents. "You two are gross. I hope that look didn't mean what I think it means."

"Cricket, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." JC smirked at her.

"Jimmy, if you could kindly shut up that would be great. I know that you're your father's son. Vince had a dirty mind. Right now, in this instance I'm reminded of a piece of advice he once gave me and I wanna slap ya on principle." Deacon shook his head.

"If a woman knows you love the hell outta her then it's ok to treat her like a whore behind closed doors." Rayna supplied.

"Ray, you ain't supposed to say the dirty thing that Vinny said 'bout you by the way." Deacon put his face in his hands and groaned.

"I call the biggest foul that can be called. Deacon, you don't talk about Momma Ray like that." Mack stepped in.

"For my sake let's stop being weird. Joel is gonna run for the hills." Daphne begged them.

"I ain't goin' anywhere. They are hilarious as hell." Joel wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You only say that because you don't have to live with them." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Jimmy, you know what I was thinkin'?" Joel ignored Daphne's last comment.

"What have you been studyin' on, Joel?" JC asked in reply.

"I was thinkin' that these girls look pretty hot if you take my meanin'." Joel winked at him.

"I do know exactly what you mean." JC winked back. "I know exactly what to do 'bout that." He scooped Maddie up in his arms and ran towards the water.

Joel did the same thing to Daphne. They both dropped the girls into the water.

Maddie came up spitting and sputtering with a pissed off look on her face. "B, beat his ass for me." She addressed Mack.

"Oh, shit, that was serious. She called me B. She only ever calls me B when shit gets serious." Mack told Will.

"You're not gonna beat his ass." Will rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Sorry, Maddie, no can do. The ball and chain won't let me beat up his best friend." Mack apologized.

"It was worth a try." Maddie fumed.

"Baby, don't be mad. I was just playin'." JC kissed her cheek.

"I don't think you're funny." Maddie glared at him.

"You ain't mad at me are ya, Daph?" Joel asked.

"Of course, I'm not mad at you. I don't have a stick up my ass like my sister does." Daphne kissed him to reassure him.

"Juliette, how is my girl doin' on this tour?" Rayna sidled up to Juliette.

"She's a natural. It's like she was born to be up on that stage. I wouldn't be surprised if she was headlining her own tour in a year or two. That's how good she is. You know I don't say things like that lightly." Juliette reported.

"That's what I like to hear. As her manager, her label head, and her mother. I was a little worried that she wasn't gonna do ok on a tour on her own." Rayna breathed a sigh of relief.

"She's kickin' ass and takin' names. You have nothin' to worry 'bout. I know that as a momma you will always worry, but she's fine." Juliette reassured her.

"Maybe you're right, maybe she's finally comin' into her own and I don't have to worry as much." Rayna conceded.

"I'm takin' good care of your girl. I don't let do anythin' that I would do. If that makes you feel any better." Juliette told her.

"You and Casey alone with my good one scares me." Rayna pointed a warning finger at her.

"We haven't corrupted her yet." Juliette laughed.

"Hopefully you won't." Rayna snorted and shook her head.

"Charlie, are you sure this is a good idea?" Dakota looked out from behind a tree.

"Probably not, but I'm gonna do it anyway." Charlie unwrapped a pack of firecrackers.

"You're gonna get in trouble." Dakota warned her.

"Probably, but I'm still gonna risk it." Charlie nodded her head and pulled a lighter out.

"Gunnar is gonna get mad at you." Dakota tried to talk her out of it.

"Gunnar never gets mad at anyone and they all pick on him." Charlie waved off her concern.

"They are all adults." Dakota pointed out to her.

"He ain't gonna do anythin' to me." Charlie assured her.

"Don't say I didn't try to warn ya." Dakota gave up.

Charlie pulled out a lighter and lit the fuse. She waited until almost the last possible second to throw the firecrackers behind Gunnar. "Get down," She whispered harshly to Dakota.

Dakota hit the deck next to her friend. "You're crazy, and you're gonna get me in so much trouble one of these days." She whispered back.

"Damn it, Jimmy, I know that was you. You just can't leave me be can you?" Gunnar ran for cover.

Charlie let out a loud giggle and clamped her hand over her mouth hurriedly.

"Really? Charlie? Really? I don't get enough trouble from everyone else you gotta get in on it?" Gunnar ran over and picked her up.

"I couldn't help it, Gunnar, you made an easy target." Charlie struggled against him.

"Kota, couldn't you stop her?" Gunnar asked the other little girl.

Dakota just gave him a look. "Gunnar," She said plaintively.

"Enough said," Gunnar knew what she meant by that. There was really no one in the world who could do anything about Charlie.

"Here you go, Cadence." Jayme sat down beside the blonde at a picnic table and handed her a soda.

"Thanks, Jayme," Cadence rewarded him with a brilliant smile.

"I made a plate for you." Deac sat down on the other side of her.

"That was really sweet of you, Deac." Cadence flashed another dazzling smile.

"No problem," Deac looked down and blushed.

Jayme shot his brother a look that told him to get lost. "Deac, why don't you go see what Charlie and Kota are doin'?" He tried to shoo him away.

"'Cause I don't feel like it that's why." Deac retorted.

"For me go away please." Jayme begged him.

"I'm not even doin' anythin'." Deac sighed.

"You are and you don't even realize it." Jayme sighed loudly.

"Well, Rayna, I think it's safe to say that your boys have discovered what girls are all 'bout." Nick walked up and put his arm around Rayna's shoulders.

"Nicky, don't bring that crap to me. As far as I'm concerned, they are gonna stay little and innocent and never have girlfriends ever." Rayna rolled her eyes at him.

"That's just wishful thinkin' on your part. I speak from experience. Plus, those boys are Claybourne's little girls are gonna be drawn to them like moths to a flame. It worked on a certain cousin of mine." Nick pointed out to her.

"Don't remind me. I know all about how irresistible Claybourne men are." Rayna groaned.

"Is it just me or are both Deac and Jayme sweet on Cadence?" Rhett's arm was in a sling while he healed from his injuries.

"I don't think it's just you. It looks that way to me." Nick replied.

"God, I hope not. That would be very bad if they were both interested in the same girl." Rayna groaned again, louder this time.

"It's very possible that it'll happen. The only reason that Deac is even tryin' with Cadence is 'cause Jayme is showin' interest in her. He's not a hound dog like his brother. Cadence is perfectly fine for a someone like Jayme. Deac doesn't need a girl like momma he's the type to go for a girl like Casey." Rhett explained.

"Don't say things like that. I don't want a Casey as my daughter-in-law." Deacon caught the tail end of his brother's observation.

"No one does." Rayna laughed. "Speakin' of my sons bein' hound dogs look at the littlest one. Him and Lacey are so cute together." She pointed to where Jack and Lacey were running around holding hands.

"That is adorable. I feel sorry for whatever man gets that girl when she's older though. She has two daddies who have her thinkin' she's a princess. And then she has a crazy Uncle Jimmy and a crazy Uncle Rhett who will gladly chase any boys off." Sadie observed.

"Sadie, what do you think our daughters are gonna have to go through?" Rayna countered.

"I don't even wanna think about that." Sadie shook off the idea.

"Never mind that, since when does Casey flirt with the law like that? She's normally runnin' from 'em." Nick pointed over to where Casey and Lincoln were flirting.

"That man has learned nothin' 'bout pickin' up girls from nursery school." Deacon shook his head.

"She is exactly what he needs. She's fun and uncomplicated. Plus, she's not gonna run off, leave him with a kid to raise, and drop in and out with his life whenever she feels like it. With Casey, what you see is what you get." Rayna observed.

"And what you get may be a bad case of the clap." Rhett scoffed.

"What would you know 'bout that?" Sadie arched her eyebrow.

"Ew, gross, I would know nothin' 'bout that. That is my niece's best friend." Rhett did a full body shake.

"I'm just sayin' he's just askin' for his daughter to catch him." Deacon sighed.

"Casey, what in God's name are you doin'?" Maddie grabbed Casey by the arm and pulled her away from Lincoln.

"What do you mean?" Casey grumbled.

"Do you want his daughter to catch you?" Maddie asked her.

"Do you think his daughter is really payin' attention to us right now?" Casey retorted.

"My daughter is probably off gettin' into mischief with your brother and sister." Lincoln pointed out.

"You, sir, have been drinking or you wouldn't be saying that. You normally care more what she thinks." Maddie shook her head at him.

"She's ten she don't really care what I do." Lincoln took a long swing of his beer.

"She's ten she's not as naïve as you think she is." Maddie pointed out to him.

"I know that she knows more than I wanna think she does. I don't parade women 'round in front of her. She understands that daddy is a man and he gets lonely sometimes. She knows that Casey is a friend of mine." Lincoln replied.

"He knows what he's gettin' with me. For instance he knows that I'm not the kinda girl he can take home to momma." Casey chimed in.

"You really don't want that helping you raise your daughter." Maddie laughed.

"I will have you know that before I became drunk and irresponsible I raised a kid." Casey pointed to Cody who was chugging beers with JC.

"You did a real bang up job with him." Maddie laughed louder.

"Just leave us alone, Maddie. I let you make your bad decisions without draggin' you home unless your daddy asked me to." Lincoln slurred his words.

"Ok, I think that Jimmy may have given you somethin' that you shouldn't have had to drink. Let's get some food in you." Casey took him by the hand.

"Why do we have to blame my husband for getting people drunk?" Maddie pretended to offended.

"Probably because your husband is the only one runnin' 'round here with a jar of moonshine." Casey rolled her eyes at her.

"You can blame Max for that. It's not like Jimmy has a still going." Maddie corrected her.

"Ya'll need to leave Max alone. Anyone who can make moonshine like that is ok in my book." Lincoln announced loudly.

"Alright, Casey, you're right let's get some food in him." Maddie took his other arm.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry for the long wait. Until next time please review.


	85. Chapter 85

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 85

"Ok, guys, you can wind it down." Maddie took her ears out. She turned to smile at the band behind her.

"Maddie, you're soundin' great." Rayna stepped up from the side of the stage.

"Thanks, mom. I'm so glad that you're letting me hijack your Opry performance tonight. I appreciate it and I know Harry appreciates getting the chance to play with your band." Maddie replied.

"I really do." Harrison put his guitar on a stand.

"Don't lie to me, Harry, you're just excited to get a chance to play with Deacon." Rayna laughed at him.

"Well, now that you mention it." Harrison smirked.

"Finally, someone who is more impressed with me than the Queen of Country." Deacon joked.

"Daddy, you should know that my whole band worships you." Maddie went over and put her arm around his shoulders.

"That's right suck up to him." Rayna rolled her eyes playfully.

"We all know where our bread is buttered, mom. We suck up to him, because he is the one who spoils us." Maddie winked at Deacon.

"Please, spare me." Rayna chuckled.

"Maddie, you get your way no matter what." Daphne told her sister.

"Your momma and I are very happy to ya'll playin' with us tonight." Deacon corrected.

"And that's not just 'cause you're lettin' him use part of your bands. My bandleader is outta town and that's not a problem 'cause he can step in. Max is here for Deacon and thank God, we can put him pretty much anywhere. We can make this arrangement work." Rayna said after giving it some thought.

"Jimmy would have loved to be here, but Big Jack needed him down in Texas. There's no telling what that's about all I know is he didn't need me to go with him." Maddie sounded thankful about that.

"You should be glad. Big Jack can be a lot to handle at times." Max knew just how his father-in-law could be.

"Jimmy thinks it has something to do with Jeremy." Maddie replied.

"This isn't Jeremy related. If it was he would have called Hailey instead of Jimmy. As far as I know Jeremy is still on the wagon. There's a case to be made that Jimmy looks more like Vince and acts more like him, but Jeremy got his vices. I loved Vince, don't get me wrong, but that man couldn't stay clean." Max mused.

"Alright, now that we've gone into Vince's history. We need to think about getting something to eat. Maddie, Daph, you two don't have a choice you're with me." Rayna announced.

"Did ya'll wanna have a girls' lunch or can I come?" Deacon asked.

"I think that we can invite him to lunch with us. What do ya'll think?" Rayna grinned.

"Of course, he can come. What are we gonna do? Leave him alone with Max? I don't think that would be a good idea for anyone." Maddie arched her eyebrow.

"Watch yourself, little girl." Max warned her teasingly.

"Max, you don't wanna threaten her." Daphne advised him.

"I ain't scared of your daddy." Max tipped his hat.

"You should be." Deacon mock glared at him.

"Let's just go eat before I have to get in between you and Max." Rayna shook her head.

* * *

JC put his boots up on the oak desk in his father's office. His hat was pulled down slightly over his eyes. He had his hand wrapped around a crystal glass of bourbon that rested on his chest. From the window, he could see the rolling green grass of the ranch.

"Boy, do you look at home behind that desk. I dare say you look almost as good there as Little Jack would have." Big Jack walked to the sidebar and poured himself a drink. "You need a refill?"

JC held his glass up to show him that he was ok. "I don't belong here anymore than Vince did. If that's why you called me down here then I think you're gonna be sorely disappointed."

"You can relax. I can't tell you what to do any more than I could tell Little Jack." Big Jack replied.

"I know that you and momma see Vince when you look at me. I'm sorry that I've never been able to be him for you. I know that you had hopes and dreams for him that he couldn't live up to. I left before I had a chance to disappoint you that way." JC sat up.

"It was never intentional. No one ever wanted you to feel that way. Jeremy has always been ours, but you weren't only a piece of him, but you had lived with him. You were our last link to him. I think maybe we pushed you harder than we should have to be the version of him that we wanted him to be." Big Jack admitted.

"What am I doin' here? If I wanted to get up before the sun and do more work before seven than most people do all day I would go off on trainin' with the Army." JC quipped.

"Watchin' you work out there, if I didn't know you'd been away for years I wouldn't be able to tell." Big Jack took the seat normally reserved for visitors.

"You didn't answer my question." JC raised his eyebrow.

"You're not the only one of Little Jack's sons that we raised. Jeremy has really stepped up. He's clean, he's sober, and he's takin' responsibility with his work and for his actions. He's finally the man I always knew that he could be." Big Jack explained.

"I don't understand what that has to do with me." JC looked confused.

"I'm 'bout to do somethin' with the business that I never thought I'd do. Bobby will remain CEO of Grayson Cattle and Oil. The difference is instead of bein' President and CEO or both he will now only be President and CEO of the Oil business. I'm namin' Jeremy President of the Cattle business. I've also decided that Allie will be a junior VP in the Oil business." Big Jack told him.

"Did you tell Hailey this?" JC didn't know what else to say.

"Hailey knows and she doesn't really seem to care either way. She's chief counsel for Greyson Cattle and Oil. I know that you're not interested in runnin' the business or even in the day to day. However, I was hopin' that you would let me carry you on the books as the VP for the cattle business. You wouldn't have to do anythin', but you would be part of the business. That way you wouldn't have to worry 'bout anyone tryin' to cheat you out of anythin' when somethin' happens to me. Not that Hailey would let that happen anyway." Big Jack chuckled.

"I don't know what to say to that, honestly." JC stammered.

"Just take the position. No one is gonna expect anythin' from you." Big Jack retorted.

"Does this have anythin' to do with Lamar namin' Maddie to some obscure VP post at Wyatt, so she can supposedly use the company plane whenever she wants to? If you ask me this is some half-baked plan that you two cooked up to bring both companies together. That's the only thing I can think of." JC shook his head.

"That is just a fringe benefit. Jimmy, take the damn position. Even if you never leave Tennessee it'll be nice to have a place where you can come relax." Big Jack pointed out to him.

"Anyone ever tell you what a devious old son of a bitch you are?" JC grinned.

"I've heard that many times and I always take it as a compliment." Big Jack grinned back.

"You're also a really big pain in my ass. You're lucky I love you, old man. I'll take the damn title." JC agreed.

"I mighta known you were in here when there's work to be done." Jeremy stuck his head in the door. His jeans were muddy. Or at least it looked like mud. "Jimmy, I could use your help fixin' that section of fence on the back forty down by the creek."

JC hauled himself to his feet. "If we're gonna do it let's go do it now 'fore it gets any hotter. I'm surprised momma let you in the house covered in cow shit."

"I snuck in the back door." Jeremy laughed.

"We really better go. If that woman catches you, hell hath no fury." JC replied.

"Jeremy, get your ass outta my house you stink and if I'm sayin' it you smell real bad." Big Jack ordered him.

* * *

"Do either of you have any objections to a bottle of white with lunch?" Maddie reviewed the wine list.

"That sounds good to me. Ask mom what she wants." Daphne replied.

"I'm fine you girls go on and get whatever you want." Rayna said quickly.

"Don't bother to ask me. Not only am I an alcoholic I wouldn't waste a trip off the wagon on wine. I never have liked it." Deacon snorted.

"Mom, are you ok? It's not like you to turn down wine." Maddie looked at her mother concerned.

"I am fine." Rayna assured her.

"Not that I mind, because I've missed you guys, but how is it just the four of us for lunch?" Daphne asked. Her baby brothers and sister weren't usually that easy to ditch.

"Well, momma and I have some news and we thought that it would be better if the big people discussed it first." Deacon began.

"Is one of you sick?" Maddie's mind went there first.

"We are both healthy." Deacon promised.

"There's no need to beat around the bush, so I'll just say it. I'm pregnant. I know I promised you guys I was done after Jack, but God apparently had other plans. I hope you aren't mad at us." Rayna just told them.

"I'm not mad. I can't speak for Maddie, but we are a huge family with a lot of love to give. If you two wanted to have ten kids it would be your business." Daphne spoke up.

"I think that you two waited a very long time to be together. Who gives a damn how many times you get pregnant? It's not like you aren't amazing parents and this kid won't be very well taken care of." Maddie added.

"Not one drama queen meltdown. I am pleasantly surprised." Deacon smiled widely.

"You would think the worst of us." Daphne pushed his shoulder playfully.

"Somehow I think that it was me he was expecting the worst from." Maddie corrected her. "I'm not the one they need to be worried about."

"Oh, I'm aware. I don't know how Jack is gonna take this. Hopefully it won't be as bad as I think it's gonna be. Charlie and the big boys won't really care either way. Jack may not be too happy 'bout it." Rayna nodded her head.

"Mom, I really don't think you're capable of doing anything that will upset him. He is incapable of being mad at you. The twins make him mad, Charlie makes his mad, dad makes him mad, Daph and I make him mad, but he doesn't get mad at you. As long as you still baby him he isn't gonna have an issue." Maddie assured her.

"Ya'll make fun of me for the way I am with him, but wait until you have one of your own and you'll understand." Rayna retorted.

"I may have to have one soon, so this baby can have a friend." Maddie joked.

"Maddie, I don't know if you could handle being pregnant and giving birth. You're a princess you're not big on pain." Daphne teased her.

"I don't even know why I like you sometimes." Maddie rolled her eyes at her sister.

"That's enough. You girls be nice to each other and let's have a nice lunch." Deacon put his foot down.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Rhett cussed and bent down to pick up the pain killers he'd just dropped on the floor.

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'll pick those up for you. Why didn't you call me to get 'em for you, baby?" Sadie got down on her hands and knees and began gathering the pills up.

"I feel fuckin' useless. I hate havin' to rely on ya for everythin'. It ain't fair that you have to take care of me and the kids." Rhett sighed disgustedly.

"I'm a wife and a momma this is in my job description. We're partners, babe. We take care of each other. Right now you need me to take care of you and that's ok." Sadie stood up and put two pills in his hand.

"I hate not bein' able to fend for myself." Rhett tossed the pills in his mouth and swallowed them dry.

"I know that you're independent. How's your shoulder feelin'?" Sadie tried to get him in a better mood.

"It only hurts when I move it now. I guess that's an improvement." Rhett scoffed.

"What did the team doctor say?" Sadie inquired.

"He said that the pain is normal and I should be good as new soon. The minute I get it outta this sling they are gonna start workin' it out. It's one of those things that I won't do any damage if I use it, it'll only hurt like hell." Rhett replied.

Sadie nodded in acceptance of his statement. "What do you say we get you out of the house tonight? I can call the sitter and we can go hit the Opry. It's kinda a Claybourne family takeover tonight and it was pointed out to me that I qualify."

"Sure, babe, whatever you want." Rhett agreed.

"Maybe we can even have dinner together." Sadie said hopefully.

"As long as I take enough painkillers to last me we can do whatever you wanna do." Rhett winked at her.

"I will have the kids get ready then. You know that they have to be mentally prepared to stay with the sitter." Sadie rolled her eyes playfully.

"Our kids are Satan Spawn for the sitter if they are properly prepared." Rhett chuckled softly.

"They get it from their father who gets it from his father." Sadie kissed his cheek.

"I would dispute that if it weren't true. The Claybourne's are a long line of trouble makers." Rhett had to agree with her assessment.

"At least you can admit to what you are." Sadie shook her head and laughed.

* * *

"Jimmy! Get your ass in here, son, you've got a visitor." Dixie called up the stairs. "Come on in, sweetheart, he'll be right down."

JC came charging down the stairs he was fresh out of the shower. He had on boots and a clean pair of jeans his shirt was thrown over his shoulder. "Momma, I just got outta the shower this better be good."

"Fine, don't be excited to see me." Will told him.

"Will, I'm glad that you stopped by." JC pulled him into a hug without hesitation.

"Brother, you better watch it. My husband and your wife would be mighty jealous if they knew we were huggin' with ya shirtless." Will joked.

"Hell, that's just as good as those two would like. You know they are each other's cheat right?" JC pulled his shirt on and twirled his wedding ring around his finger.

"That would be good for both of us. They would leave us alone for a few minutes." Will laughed.

"You boys are both absolutely horrible. You're lucky that Mack and Maddie have anythin' to do with ya." Dixie scolded them.

"Mack is lucky that I put up with him. He's a damn Yankee and he's tryin' to make my kids Yankees. My dad has made peace with the fact that I'm gay, but I don't think he'll ever quite forgive me for marryin' a Yankee. His savin' graces are he's a world class hockey player, he can shoot skeet like a Texan, and he can ride a horse." Will planted a kiss on Dixie's cheek.

"Big Jack and Big Bill do have that in common. Any man who can handle a shotgun is alright in their books." JC commented.

"Both ya'll hush up with that kinda talk. I don't know what I'm gonna do with either of ya." Dixie shook her head at them.

"You wouldn't know what to do with us if we were any other way either." Will winked at her.

"Well, right now I think the thing to do with ya'll is feed ya. You can't get into trouble at the dinner table." Dixie took them each by the arm.

* * *

"Maddie, I swear your ability to take up every flat surface with all your makeup is a gift of yours." Daphne moved her sisters stuff out of the way, so she could have room to get ready.

"Oh my God, you remedied the problem. I don't see why you had to bitch about it." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Because you have to literally take over everything. That's why I had to say something." Daphne huffed loudly.

"I can't help it that I need more room than you do." Maddie argued.

"Well, this sounds like old times, doesn't it, daddy?" Rayna stood in the doorway of the dressing room with Deacon by her side.

"It does. This sounds like the Maddie left her music all in the recordin' booth fight." Deacon's eyes lit up with laughter.

"She is very messy." Rayna admitted.

"I don't know how poor Jimmy lives with her. He's got that military trainin' and he keeps things orderly." Deacon retorted.

"Ya'll could stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here." Maddie turned to glare at them.

"Did you hear how natural that ya'll came outta her mouth?" Deacon grinned happily.

"There may be hope for her yet." Rayna teased.

"I've been on a bus with a cowboy who I'm convinced speaks English as a second language. I'm lucky that ya'll is all that slips out." Maddie made a show of rolling her eyes.

"Ain't it wonderful how no matter how old they get it's still like havin' teenagers?" Luke just happened to be walking past.

"No, it's not. Not when I have three others that are gettin' ready to be teenagers. I don't need the ones I already raised actin' like that." Rayna gave him a withering look.

"Believe it or not I do know the feelin'." Luke replied.

"Steph let you out of the house alone? I thought she knew you couldn't be trusted to behave." Deacon patted him on the back.

"She has pretty well figured that out and she sent me with a chaperone he just bailed on me for the chance to talk to a football player." Luke retorted.

"Joel's here, I didn't think he was gonna be able to make it." Daphne smiled broadly.

"Freakin' Deacon, is that the young man you need to be worried 'bout?" Luke teased Deacon.

"Shut up, Wheels Up, one day Sage is gonna bring a boy home and you'll just know." Deacon warned him.

"Sage brings boys home all the time it's never serious. I have a son who took after me he only wants what can never be his." Luke glanced in Rayna's direction as he spoke. "Maddie, where's that husband of yours?"

"He is in Texas and I'm glad to be rid of him for a little while. We have been on a tour bus together all summer and I needed a break from him." Maddie answered.

"Which, is why my wife kicks me outta the house as long as I have one of my children for supervision." Luke chuckled.

"'Cause she knows that you need it. She remembers well what you used to be like and more importantly she remembers the hooker and coke incident with Riff before ya'll got back together." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Hey now, I had nothin' to do with the hookers and coke and you know it." Luke protested.

"A guy messes up one time and he never gets to live it down." Riff was playing with the band.

"Brother, you messed up more than once. I messed up more than once. If they bring out the greatest hits of our highlight reel every now and then I say they are entitled to that." Deacon advised him.

"You have a greatest hits volume one and volume two when it comes to that. The rest of us can't compare." Rhett teased him.

"The difference is he didn't with a wife and kids at home waitin' on him." Rayna stepped in.

"I knew he defended her like a momma bear defends her cub, but I didn't know she defended him that way." Luke observed.

"I didn't know she defended him like that either. That ain't the way I remember it." Riff agreed.

"Even when she's pissed at him she defends him. Those two are a united front. You don't mess with one with messin' with 'em both." Daphne warned them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go talk to my boyfriend before I have to go on."

"Well, I think she finally got that attitude." Deacon laughed.

"She got that from you, babe." Rayna laughed with him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	86. Chapter 86

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Song list: Bullet in a Bonfire by Brantley Gilbert, Legends by Kelsea Ballerini, and Better Man by Little Big Town.

* * *

Chapter 86

" _I know the stories behind the bruises and I've been the shoulder. You've been the reason for her tears. And her tellin' you it's over's useless. You keep callin' her phone drivin' by when I'm not here. She's beggin' me not to lose my temper, Lord, I've tried, but my patience is runnin' thin. The best thing you can do is forget her. 'Cause so help me God if you ever touch that girl again."_ Deacon opened with a song the he'd written with Paul and Rhett.

" _You cross that line, boy, there ain't no comin' back. I'm a crazy train, son, and you caught up in the tracks. You got me growlin' like a pitbull, brother, I'm about to lock my jaws. I'm a time bomb tickin', a real livewire, boy, I'm a shot in the dark, a bullet in a bonfire. I'm a bullet in a bonfire."_ He winked at Rhett and Paul who stood on the side of the stage.

"You left them alone unsupervised when they were at your place?" Rayna whispered to Sadie.

"I can't control them and I don't try." Sadie whispered back.

" _I know you don't know my story, but I know yours and you probably should've read a page or two. 'Cause if you think you're a badass on a lady. Boy, you oughta see a grown ass man on a punk ass joke like you."_

"Paul, I can only guess that you had a hand in this." June commented.

"Of course, I did." Paul grinned proudly.

"So did I." Rhett volunteered.

" _You cross that line, boy, there ain't no comin' back. I'm a crazy train, son, and you caught up in the tracks. You got me growlin' like a pitbull, brother, I'm about to lock my jaws. I'm a time bomb tickin', a real livewire, boy, I'm a shot in the dark, a bullet in a bonfire. Yeah a bullet in a bonfire."_

" _I'm gonna let you think it's over, but little do you know the fun is just about to start. 'Cause I see you lookin' over your shoulder. And I see you tryin' act like you don't hear my footsteps in the dark."_

" _You cross that line, boy, there ain't no comin' back. I'm a crazy train, son, and you caught up in the tracks. You got me growlin' like a pitbull, brother, I'm about to lock my jaws. I'm a time bomb tickin', a real livewire, boy, I'm a shot in the dark, a bullet in a bonfire. I'm a bullet in a bonfire. Yeah, I'm a bullet in a bonfire. Yeah, I'm a bullet in a bonfire."_ Deacon ended the song. He walked off the stage with his guitar.

"I don't know whether to be amused with you or get on to you." Rayna kissed his cheek.

"When all else fails go for amusement." Deacon grinned.

"I think I'll have to settle for amusement so I don't kill you." Rayna laughed at him.

"I don't know how I forgot that the hormones make you a little mean sometimes." Deacon kissed her forehead.

"Shh, you don't want that cat to get outta the bag anytime soon." Rayna cautioned him.

"Babe, as far as I'm concerned is our business and screw what the rest of the world thinks." Deacon whispered in her ear.

"You need to behave." Rayna wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You know that'll never happen." Deacon chuckled.

"I'm so glad I'm going out on stage and don't have to watch this." Maddie put her ears in. "And I will take that." She picked up her dad's guitar.

"My toothbrush sure, my wife maybe, but my beloved Gibson never." Deacon pointed a finger at her.

"You don't mind if I use your Gibson." Maddie laughed at him.

"Of course, I don't." Deacon waved her off.

"She's just like her daddy." Rayna observed.

"She knows how to appreciate a good guitar. That's my backup Gibson and it's hers when I retire." Deacon informed her.

"You can afford to let go of a guitar or two." Rayna teased him.

"You think you're so funny." Deacon kissed her to keep her from replying.

" _We were golden, we were fire, we were magic. Yeah, and they all knew our names all over town. We had it made in the middle of the madness. We were neon in a gray crowd. Yeah, we wrote our own story. Full of blood, sweat, and heartbeats. We didn't do it for the fame or the glory. And, but, we went down in history."_ Maddie began her new song.

"I'll say this for her this album is shaping up to be a lot better than the last one." Sadie commented.

"It's funny the difference one person can make in someone's life. She was with Jimmy when she wrote this album she wasn't for the last one." Rayna replied.

" _Yeah, we were legends. Loving you, baby, it was heaven. What everyone wondered we'd never question. Close our eyes and took on the world together. Do you remember? We were crazy. Tragic and epic and so amazing. I'll always wear the crown that you gave me. We will always stay lost in forever. And they'll remember we were legends."_

"She speaks from experience on that one." Deacon tried to get a rise out of his wife.

"I sometimes hate that you know just how important you are to me." Rayna scoffed.

"No, you don't." Deacon winked at her.

" _Like we were written down in permanent marker. Not even the brightest sun could ever fade. Come whichever hell or high water. It was always me and you either way."_ Maddie closed her eyes as she sang.

"No, I don't. I wish I did." Rayna pushed his side playfully.

"You two gotta stop." Rhett rolled his eyes.

" _Hey, we wrote our own story full of blood, sweat, and heartbeats. We didn't do it for the fame or the glory. We just did it for you and me."_

"Rhett, you're fightin' a losin' battle." Paul advised his son.

" _And that's why we were legends. Loving you, baby, it was heaven. What everyone wondered we'd never question. Close our eyes and took on the world together. Do you remember? We were crazy. Tragic and epic and so amazing. I'll always wear the crown that you gave me. We will always stay lost in forever. And they'll remember we were legends."_

" _Yeah, we were legends. Loving you, baby, it was heaven. What everyone wondered we'd never question. Close our eyes and took on the world together. Do you remember? We were crazy. Tragic and epic and so amazing. I'll always wear the crown that you gave me. We will always stay lost in forever. And they'll remember we were legends. We were, yeah, we were legends. Yeah, we wrote our own story."_ Maddie finished her song.

"I love her, but I don't like her at all sometimes. As a sister that is a tough act to follow." Daphne grumbled.

"You are doin' just fine, Sugar. You ain't Maddie and you ain't gotta be." June wrapped her up in a hug and kissed her temple.

"Thanks, mawmaw," Daphne smiled.

"Darlin', Maddie shines and she knows it. That's 'cause she's like your Pa and she has to have her ego polished. You sparkle, but you're still polishin' yourself." June told her.

"It is hereditary, isn't it? That sounded like some of dad's Man Wisdom." Daphne laughed.

"It's from bein' 'round them damn Claybourne's too long." June grinned.

"They grow on you, don't they?" Daphne retorted.

"They really do." June looked at Paul and winked.

Rayna took the stage next. She was performing a song off her and Deacon's dual album. _"I know I'm probably better off on my own than lovin' a man who didn't know what he had when he had it. And I see the permanent damage you did to me. Never again, I just wish I could forget when it was magic. I wish it wasn't four AM standing in the mirror saying to myself. You know you had to do it I know. The bravest thing I ever did was run."_

" _Sometimes in the middle of the night I can feel you again. But I just miss you and I just wish you were a better man. And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand. And I just miss you and I just wish you were a better man. A better man."_ She made eye contact with Deacon and offered him a smile.

Deacon winked back at her to show her he was ok.

" _I know I'm probably better off all alone. Than needing a man who could change his mind at any given minute. And it's always on your terms. I'm hanging on every careless word. Hoping it might turn sweet again like it was in the beginning. But your jealousy I can hear it now you're talking down to me like I'll always be around. You push my love away like it's some kind of loaded gun. Boy, you never thought I'd run."_ This album had been therapeutic for them. They both got to get things off their chests that had been weighing on them for a while.

" _Sometimes in the middle of the night I can feel you again. But I just miss you and I just wish you were a better man. And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand. And I just miss you and I just wish you were a better man. A better man. Better man."_

" _I hold on to this pride because these days it's all I have. And I gave you my best and we both know you can't say that. You can't say that. I wish you were a better man. I wonder what we would've become if you were a better man. We might still be in love if you were a better. You wouldn't been the one if you were a better man. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes in the middle of the night I can feel you again. But I just miss you and I just wish you were a better man. And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand. And I just miss you and I just wish you were a better man. We might still be in love if you were a better man. Better man."_ Rayna finished strong.

"That was great, babe." Deacon wrapped his arms around her when she walked off the stage.

"I'm glad we decided not to hold back on this album." Rayna kissed his cheek.

"You and I do very well at coverin' emotional pain." Deacon joked.

"It's better on this side of it." Rayna leaned against him.

"I couldn't agree more." Deacon held her tight.

* * *

"You ready for this?" Deacon asked Rayna. They sat at the kitchen counter sipping coffee.

"I'm as ready as I'm ever gonna be. I think the spread of sugary breakfast foods will help soften the blow." Rayna drummed her fingers on the counter top.

Deacon put his hand on top of hers to still her fidgeting. "I don't think they are gonna care either way. The only one of them that might have any type of reaction is Henry."

"He's the one I'm worried about. He's my baby. I don't know how he'll react to not actually bein' the baby anymore." Rayna sighed and ran her hands over her face.

"Honey, as long as we still love and spend time with all of 'em there won't be a problem." Deacon reassured her.

"Here they come now." Rayna pointed up at the ceiling when she heard the kids' feet hit the floor.

"And they sound like they are in rare form." Deacon laughed and shook his head.

"Maybe it's not such a good idea to feed them so much sugar." Rayna suggested.

"We can always have 'em go run it off in the yard." Deacon waved off her concern.

"You have just thought of everythin' haven't you?" Rayna sniped at him.

"I'm not gonna take that personally 'cause I know how you get." Deacon kissed the center of her forehead.

"What's for breakfast? I'm starvin'." Deac announced as he took a seat at the counter.

"Me too," Charlie echoed.

"Me three," Jayme chimed in.

"Me four," Jack cheered.

"I don't know how I'm gonna feed ya'll as teenagers. You already eat so much." Rayna teased them.

"We are gonna get ya'll fed in just a minute. Momma and I got somethin' that we wanna talk to you 'bout first." Deacon told them.

"What is it, daddy?" Charlie asked.

"I want ya'll to know that this is good news and no matter what daddy and I will always love you." Rayna began.

"Momma and I are havin' a baby." Deacon looked at them with a huge smile on his face.

"I'm the baby." Jack protested.

"You will always be my baby, but you're gonna be a big brother now." Rayna explained to him.

"Like Deac and Jayme are my big brothers?" Jack asked brightly.

"Exactly like that." Deacon ruffled his hair.

"Does anyone else have any questions?" Rayna asked.

"Yeah. Can we eat now?" Charlie asked.

"Well, that wasn't a bad response all things given." Deacon laughed.

"That was a lot better than I expected." Rayna agreed with him.

"I ain't gonna question it." Deacon retorted.

"I'm not either." Rayna put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed him.

"I really love our family." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"I really love our family too." Rayna winked at him.

Deacon kissed her. "Think we could leave them alone with all this food and sneak off for a little adult fun?"

"Hold that thought." Rayna clapped her hand over her mouth and rushed to the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later.

"Mornin' sickness?" Deacon asked.

"No, Deacon, it's a hangover." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"Come here." Deacon settled her between his legs and rubbed her belly. "Baby Claybourne, you need to be nice to your momma."

"Who is daddy talkin' to?" Jack asked.

"Daddy is talkin' to the baby in momma's tummy." Rayna answered him. She waved him over. "Come over here."

Jack bounced over to her.

Rayna took his hand and put it on her stomach. "That is your baby brother or sister. We have to talk to him or her to make sure they know how loved they are."

"Henry, why don't you say hi?" Deacon suggested. He was hoping to get him to warm up to the idea.

"It's ok, Jack, you can say hi." Rayna pulled her shirt up.

Jack put his mouth right up to her stomach. "Hi, baby, I'm your big brother, Jack Henry."

"Any of ya'll wanna say hi?" Deacon turned to the older three.

"No thanks," Jayme said quickly.

"I'll pass," Deac added.

"Maybe later," Charlie chimed in.

"Oh God, the teenaged stuff has already started." Deacon groaned.

"At least we know they can't be any worse than Maddie was." Rayna looked on the bright side.

"That is somethin' to be thankful for anyway." Deacon replied.

* * *

Maddie crept down the stairs carrying a baseball bat. She'd heard a noise coming from the kitchen and it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Well, I think it's a damn good thing that I didn't leave you with a shotgun or I'd be bleedin' all over the kitchen right now." JC chuckled.

"Jimmy, I didn't expect you home this early. You scared the hell out of me." Maddie clutched her chest.

"It's one of the perks of havin' a daddy with a private plane. I get to come and go as I please." JC replied. He took the bat out of her hand and kissed her.

"Are you gonna tell me what he wanted or are you gonna keep me guessing?" Maddie wrapped her arms around his neck.

"He's a pain in the ass and your pawpaw is a pain in the ass. I think the two of them put their heads together and came up with a crazy ass plan to merge the businesses together. He gave me a VP position in the cattle business." JC explained.

"I'm sorry that my pawpaw is a freak who can't mind his own business." Maddie kissed along his jawline.

"I'm sorry that my daddy has issues with boundaries. I think they have some ass backwards idea that one of our future children will be able to unite both companies." JC groaned in the back of his throat.

"Let's not talk about them right now." Maddie nibbled on his earlobe.

"I couldn't agree more." JC picked her up and sat her on the kitchen counter.

"You'd give Jack Henry a heart attack if you saw you sit me on this counter." Maddie giggled.

"Let's really give him somethin' to be upset over then." JC worked Maddie's panties down from under the long t-shirt she wore.

"You are so bad." Maddie kissed him again, deeper this time.

"Darlin', if I'm bad I don't ever wanna be good." JC unbuckled his belt and slid inside her.

"I can't believe we just did that." Maddie laughed once they had finished.

"I don't know why you can't. We've done it worse places than the kitchen counter before." JC laughed along with her.

"But, this is our home and we eat at this counter." Maddie buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's normal. Other couples do stuff like this all the damn time." JC reassured her.

"I like the sound of being a normal couple." Maddie mumbled.

"It's kinda nice to be in our home ain't it?" JC agreed with her.

"I wish we weren't out on tour right now and we got to enjoy our time as newlyweds without having our work get in the way." Maddie replied.

"We will be off tour before you know it and then we can spend as much time bein' newlyweds as you want." JC kissed her neck.

"I'm really looking forward to that. And then maybe we can get to work on making a baby." Maddie broached the subject for the first time.

"You want a baby?" JC asked.

"I do. I see how happy my parents are to be together and raise kids together. I want that for us and I want to give them grandchildren." Maddie answered him.

"I couldn't think of a better idea if you asked me." JC agreed with her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	87. Chapter 87

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 87

Two months later

"Alright, go on and finish what you were sayin', Nicky." Rayna took a deep breath and rubbed her belly.

"The newest Baby Claybourne givin' you issues?" Nick laughed softly.

"Every time I've carried that man's spawn I've had issues." Rayna replied.

Nick shuffled through some papers. "Here's the deal you've got me as head of marketin' and we are doin' damn good compared to this time last year. We aren't doin' as good as I'd hoped we would be though. We have to do somethin', Rayna."

"Nicky, it's not your job to worry about it. Tandy and Bucky will sort it out. You just keep doin' what you're doin'. You have made everyone look good." Rayna assured her younger cousin.

"You forget that I'm a finance guy. Tandy raised me up herself. I can't just make that go away. I have so many ideas. There are so many things that we can do to right this ship." Nick replied.

"Tell Tandy you know that I have no clue what you're talkin' 'bout." Rayna shook her head.

"I did tell Tandy and she shot me down, that's why I'm tellin' you." Nick explained to her.

"You know as well as I do that Tandy really runs things around here. If she says it's a bad idea I'm gonna trust her." Rayna gave him a sympathetic smile.

"You do know that no idea is a good idea unless it comes from her don't you?" Nick arched his eyebrow.

"I'm aware of that too. So, here's the deal I will try whatever she and Bucky come up with first. If that doesn't work out then we will try your idea. Get a proposal drawn up for me and I'll take a look at it." Rayna leveled with him.

"I'll have it on your desk this afternoon. It's already a done deal." Nick winked at her.

"Don't tell Tandy about this meeting." Rayna pointed a threating finger at him.

"You have my word that she won't hear this from me." Nick assured her.

"You know what'll happen if you do." Rayna advised him.

"I know better than you do what'll happen. I worked with her for a long time." Nick got up.

"I know, but this way we have a backup plan." Rayna bumped knuckles with him.

* * *

Juliette opened her door in response to the knock. "Hey, Maddie, come on in."

"Thanks for letting me come over on such short notice." Maddie gave her a hug.

"Don't be stupid. You're welcome here anytime and you know that." Juliette kissed her cheek.

"I do know that, but this was short notice." Maddie replied.

"You're family it's never too short notice for you." Juliette assured her.

"That's really nice of you." Maddie smiled.

"What's so important that you had to come by?" Juliette asked.

"I'm in a little bit of a pickle and you're the only person I know who can help me out." Maddie told her.

"Say no more and tell me everythin'." Juliette put her arm around her shoulders.

"The thing is I need a pregnancy test and I can't go buy it." Maddie bit her bottom lip.

"Does Jimmy know that he might be a daddy?" Juliette couldn't help teasing her a little bit.

"I haven't said anythin' to him yet, because I'm not sure if this is something I should bring to his attention. I don't want to get his hopes up and then it not be true." Maddie stammered.

Juliette threw her head back and laughed. "I'm not laughin' at you or the situation. Maybe the situation a little bit, because your mother came to me with the exact same problem about ten years ago when she was pregnant with Charlie. I keep tellin' you that you need to get an Emily and you don't listen to me."

"Don't compare me to my mother I get enough of those unfavorable comparisons from the press." Maddie groaned.

"You could do a lot worse than bein' compared to the great Rayna Jaymes." Juliette gave her a look.

"I know that. For you that may be a good thing, but I'm her daughter I'm gonna be in her shadow until she finally hangs up her rhinestones for good." Maddie explained to her.

"It's a good thing for you too even though you don't wanna see that." Juliette corrected her.

"Where's Emily? I really wanna get take a test and get this outta the way." Maddie wrung her hands.

Juliette pulled out her phone and sent a text to her assistant. "Don't worry she will be here any minute with what you need."

"I'm really worried. I want this, but at the same time I'm terrified." Maddie let out a shaky breath.

"That's what bein' a mother is all about." Juliette kissed her forehead.

"I really need to learn to think things over before I leap." Maddie covered her face with her hands and groaned.

"I think I've rubbed off on you a little bit." Juliette smiled pleased with herself.

"Don't let my mother hear you say that. I'm not so sure that's a good thing." Maddie laughed.

"Your mother sees me as her bad child. I'm not gonna tell her a damn thing." Juliette laughed with her.

"You don't know how much I appreciate that." Maddie looked at her gratefully.

"You are the little sister I never had, but always wanted. I would do anythin' in this world for you. I think there's another call we need to make before Emily gets here though." Juliette looked at her pointedly.

"What call are you talking about?" Maddie asked curiously.

"There's another person who you're like a baby sister too and you're related to her by blood." Juliette gave her a hint.

"You want me to call Scarlett, don't you?" Maddie groaned.

"I do want you to call Scarlett. She's your daddy's first daughter. You need her here." Juliette told her.

Maddie sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll call her." She took her phone out and made a call. "Hey, Scarlett, it's me. I need you to come over to Juliette's right now." She hung up the phone after her cousin had replied.

Scarlett showed up fifteen minutes later. "Ok, what am I doin' here?"

"We are waiting on Emily to show up with the pregnancy test that I need." Maddie told her.

Scarlett wrapped her arms around her cousin and kissed her cheek. "Oh, Maddie, I'm so happy for you."

"You may want to hold out on the congratulations. I don't know that I'm pregnant yet. I don't even know that I want to be." Maddie retorted.

"Maddie, you don't get a choice at this point. You're either pregnant or you're not. You're either ready or you're not. And if it's like my case you're not ready and you're terrified." Scarlett reassured her.

"If I wanted frank advice like that I would talk to my mother." Maddie started to panic a little bit.

"I can't help it. It comes with the territory when you become a mother." Scarlett chuckled.

"Alright, Juliette, I got what you asked for. I really hope that this isn't for you." Emily came in the front door.

"It's not for me. These people just refuse to hire a personal assistant." Juliette retorted.

Emily looked around and saw who else was in the room. "I was under the impression that all Claybourne's used Rusty to do their dirty work."

"I couldn't ask Rusty to get me a pregnancy test. He would have gone straight to my dad with that information." Maddie told her.

"Maddie, I'm only surprised that I haven't had to do this for you sooner." Emily shook her head.

Juliette searched through the bags Emily had brought in until she found the multiple pregnancy tests she'd asked her to buy. "Now, you go take your tests." She handed them to Maddie.

"Fine," Maddie took the tests from her with a sigh.

* * *

"Come here, you little monsters." Mack chased his two kids around the house. He was going to be late for practice if he didn't get them corralled soon.

"No, dada," Billy giggled and took off running.

"This is fun," Lacy ran the opposite direction of her brother.

"Will! I need some help, babe!" Mack called out.

Will came bounding down the stairs. "Sorry, babe, I had to take a shower. I smelled really horrible."

The doorbell rang in the distance.

"You get that and I'll corral them." Will grabbed a lasso off a hook on the wall. "That's it, it's roundup time." He said in his best Texan accent. He sung the lasso over his head and threw it around Billy. He pulled it tight and then he hog tied him like a cow.

Mack went to the door and answered it. He was a little shocked at who was on the other side. "Hey,"

"Hey, Mack, I'm supposed to do some writing with Will today." Kevin smiled. He adjusted the strap of his briefcase on his shoulder.

"Come on in, Kevin. He's in the living room with the house apes." Mack waved him in. He wasn't thrilled about his husband working with his ex, but he knew that he was faithful to him.

"No problem. I know what house apes are like." Kevin laughed softly. He followed Mack into the living room.

"Alright, now are ya'll done or do you want more of this?" Will had Billy tucked under one arm and Lacy under the other.

"More!" Both kids yelled in unison.

"Nah, I don't have time to do more. Daddy's gotta work and Uncle Jimmy should be here to get ya'll any minute. Ya'll gotta go outside and play." Will sat them down on their feet. He opened the patio door and sent them out.

"Will, I never thought I'd see you so domestic." Kevin took his briefcase off his shoulder and set it down.

"It still takes some getting' used to sometimes." Will chuckled. He pushed his hair back.

"Babe, I'm going to practice. I will see you later." Mack pecked Will's lips.

"I will see you later. Have a good practice." Will replied.

"Don't forget we have a command performance at the baseball game tonight. Lamar needs his token gays in the executive box with him. He's trying to land some kind of contract." Mack reminded him.

"I know that we have to be there tonight. Plus, Rhett is playin' in the outfield and he needs some support." Will nodded his head.

"I've got to go. I don't wanna get fined for being late." Mack rushed out the door.

"Token gays?" Kevin arched an eyebrow.

"Lamar Wyatt is Rayna's father and he's real good to us. If he wants to use us every now and to show that he's diverse we let him." Will explained.

"I knew that." Kevin replied. "You ready to get down to some writing?"

"I think we better wait for Jimmy to come pick the kids up. We will never get anythin' done with them here." Will replied.

"That actually sounds like a good idea." Kevin agreed with him.

"Can I get you anythin'?" Will offered.

"Water would be great." Kevin told him.

"Comin' right up." Will went to the mini fridge and took out a bottle of water and a beer. He handed the water to Kevin.

"Thanks," Kevin' twisted the top off the bottle of water and took a drink.

"No problem," Will took a long pull off his beer.

"So, I have to say you've become a real gay icon since we were together." Kevin commented.

"I don't think of myself like that, but if you want to say it, I'll take it." Will laughed a little uneasily.

"I owe you an apology. When we were together I let you think that you weren't gay enough to be with me and that was wrong." Kevin apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Kevin. You and I just weren't meant to be together. Mack and I are kinda perfect for each other. I'm a country singer whose gay and he's a hockey player whose gay. We are our professions not our sexuality." Will explained to him.

"I'm glad that things have worked out so well for you." Kevin retorted.

"I'm glad that you found what you were lookin' for too." Will smiled at him.

"I only ever wanted you to be happy." Kevin clarified.

"Kevin, you were the first person that I ever loved and I appreciate you for that. I owe everythin' that I have now to you if it weren't for you then I would have never found the person I was meant to be." Will spoke from his heart. He looked out the windows of the door to check on his kids.

"So, which one of you is the father?" Kevin asked.

"I fathered both of them. We got the eggs from Mack's sister. We both wanted to be related to them and that was the only way to make it happen. Lacy looks so much like her dada, but Billy is my twin. My old man has pictures of me at that age and that kid couldn't look more like me if he tried." Will smiled fondly.

JC let himself in the front door while Will and Mack were talking. "Lacy, Billy, Uncle Jimmy is here!" He called out at the top of his lungs.

"Excuse me," Will opened the patio door. "Lacy, Billy, Uncle Jimmy is here."

Lacy and Billy ran in and bombarded Jimmy with hugs.

"Hey, my little piglets. How are you?" JC scooped them both up.

"Jimmy, I will pick them up later." Will told him.

"No problem, Will. Just pick them up when you get a chance." JC assured him.

"If you and Maddie don't mind keeping them." Will shrugged.

"They will be fine." JC promised.

"I know that. I don't worry 'bout 'em when they're with you." Will threw him a mock salute.

"They will be waitin' for ya when you come to pick 'em up." JC returned the salute.

* * *

When Maddie got home she found JC out in the back yard playing with Lacy and Billy. He was chasing them around with a lasso. She smiled to herself. She'd seen him with them before and how good he was, but it meant more to her now.

"Hey, baby, you weren't home when we got back and I was startin' to get worried 'bout ya." JC grinned from ear to ear.

"I had a couple of errands to run before I came back. I'm sorry that I had you worried." Maddie smiled back at him.

"What kind of errands?" JC asked her.

Maddie reached in her purse and pulled out a box. She handed it to him. "Open that and then tell me what you think."

JC opened the box and he found a belt buckle that read #1 Daddy on it. He looked confused.

"Lift the belt buckle." Maddie knew where the confusion came from.

JC lifted the belt buckle and he found an ultrasound picture under it. His eyes came up to meet Maddie's and they filled with tears. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm pregnant, babe. You're gonna be a daddy." Maddie confirmed.

JC wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground. "I am so happy, Cricket." He kissed her deeply.

"I know, I am too, babe. We are gonna be parents and I'm terrified." Maddie laughed against his lips.

"It's gonna be ok. I'm sure we can figure this out together." JC reassured her.

"We've got this." Maddie rested her forehead against his.

* * *

Rhett stiffly reached into his locker and took his bottle of pain pills out. He'd been back on the field for a few weeks now, but he was still in pain every time he played. He shook some pills out of the bottle and swallowed them dry.

He headed out the players' entrance and started to walk to his truck.

"Moving a little slow tonight aren't you, old man?" Mack waited at the truck for him.

"Hey, pal, what are you doin'?" Rhett pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I was up in the box with Lamar. Turns out the guy he wanted to wheel and deal with is a really big fan of Will's and I got out of there while the getting was good. Wanna go grab some food or something?" Mack asked him.

"The kids are mercifully with Sadie's mom who is in town. And she's at some kinda thing for the label. That sounds perfect to me." Rhett handed him his keys.

"You want me to drive your truck? I know that you southern men are serious about your trucks." Mack looked concerned.

"I just took four Vicodin I don't think I should drive right now." Rhett pointed out to him.

"Christ, Rocket, you're not supposed to take that many at one time." Mack shook his head at him.

"I'm really in that much pain, Shooter." Rhett rolled his eyes.

"You're really a damn moron sometimes." Mack got behind the wheel of his truck. "You're also freakishly tall." He adjusted the seat.

"You just realized that?" Rhett shrugged his shoulders.

"I need you to realize that your father is an addict. And you could very easily become one." Mack lectured him.

"I don't need that lecture, I'm fine. I'm just in chronic pain right now. I don't think they fixed somethin' right. My daddy is a drunk not an addict." Rhett corrected him.

"Why are you so damn stubborn?" Mack put the truck in drive.

"I'm a Claybourne. Name one of us who isn't. Maddie is one of your best friends, you should know that better than anyone." Rhett took his flask out of the glove box and took a pull off it.

"If you puke I'm not cleaning it up." Mack warned him.

"I'm not gonna puke I'll be fine." Rhett reassured him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I thought it was time to move it along some. I'm gonna be out of town for a few days and I wanted to get this update out to you. Until next time please review.


	88. Chapter 88

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 88

"When are ya'll gonna tell us what we're doing here?" Maddie looked between both her parents.

"I love how that ya'll is comin' outta her mouth more and more frequently these days." Deacon chuckled and held tight to Rayna's hand. They were gathered in the living room of their house.

"She picked it up from the cowboy she married and not from us." Rayna teased him.

"I know, but better late than never." Deacon shrugged playfully.

"You two can stop your witty banter and tell us what we're doing here any time now." Daphne shook her head at them.

"Jack Henry, you remember that box momma and I gave you to keep safe?" Deacon asked his baby boy.

"I got it." Jack pointed to a cardboard box.

"Good boy, now there are pink shirts and blue shirts in that box. Everyone pick a color and we will go from there." Deacon instructed.

"Shouldn't we be doin' this with more people?" JC asked.

"We are keepin' this thing to the inner circle." Rayna smiled.

"I'm glad that we count as the inner circle." Scarlett smiled.

"You're one of our girls. Of course, you count as the inner circle." Rayna winked at her.

"I've got the cake." June carried a cake into the room.

"She's the one who knows the secrets. If ya'll want a hint on what color you should put on look at her." Deacon pointed at his mother. He and Rayna had never done things this way before. With all the other babies, they'd been together for they'd found out in the doctor's office together. This time they had wanted to include all their children.

"Who wants pink and who wants blue?" Paul asked.

"Give me a pink one." Lamar caught the shirt that Paul threw him. "What can I say? I have a soft spot for the women in this family."

"I will take a blue one." Gunnar gave his vote.

"I vote with Gunnar. The two sisters I already have are more than enough." Charlie gave her opinion.

"I feel that way about my brothers. Give me pink." Deac snorted.

"I'll go pink too. I don't need another brother." Jayme parroted his brother's sentiments.

"The last time we had a sister we got Charlie. It's better that a boy be exactly like dad than a girl. I'll take blue." Daphne chimed in.

"Hey, I object to that. I am also more like him than I would like. Another girl wouldn't be so terrible." Maddie moved JC's hand away before he could put his hand on her stomach. She wasn't quite ready to tell her parents that she was pregnant yet.

"I love Claybourne women. I think that should tell you where I stand." JC chuckled.

"I think Deacon is about due to have produced another girl." Tandy joked.

"I vote for a boy. So far they are a lot less trouble for me to handle." Bucky laughed.

"I guess give me a blue one. Buck is right, these boys aren't nearly as much trouble." Scarlett said.

Rhett slipped his hand in his pocket and popped two pills in his mouth and chased them down with the beer he was drinking before he gave his answer. "The Claybourne boys aren't that bad. I think we have some good qualities."

"Thank you, Rhett," Deacon bumped knuckles with his brother. "Jack Henry, give me and Uncle Rhett a blue shirt."

Jack gave them both a shirt. "I want a sissy I take pink."

"How can I argue with that logic when I have two Claybourne men that I gave birth to?" Sadie shrugged her shoulders.

"Are we all set?" Rayna asked.

"You and the old man have to pick." Deacon answered her.

"I will take a pink shirt." Rayna said.

"I'll take pink too." Paul chimed in.

"I'm neutral in this. I'm gonna wear white." June laughed.

"Alright, let's cut this cake." Deacon clapped his hands together.

Rayna took his hand and walked over to where June had placed the cake. "Let's do this."

They each placed their hand on the cake knife and cut into the cake. They shared a kiss when they saw the pink coloring of the cake.

"It's a girl," They announced in unison.

"Have you guys thought of a name yet?" Daphne asked.

"Do you even know us, Squirt? Everythin' that we do is a battle. The only one that we had named right away was Charlie and then we kept that under wraps. We didn't know what we were gonna name the twins 'til they were born. She looked at him and said he was Deacon. I looked at the other one and knew his name was Jaymes." Deacon answered her.

"It's not quite as bad as he's makin' it out to be. We agreed on Jack's name right away. Even though someone I know hardly ever calls him by that name." Rayna looked at her husband pointedly.

"Henry was my grandfather's name. And Jackson was the given name of the man who would've been Maddie's godfather. Give me a break." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Why do I even try to argue with him?" Rayna shook her head and laughed.

"We don't know." June laughed.

JC arched his eyebrow at Maddie.

"You really wanna do this now?" Maddie asked him.

"I can't contain myself for much longer." JC laughed.

"The stuff is in my purse." Maddie shrugged.

"What in the world are you two talkin' 'bout?" Rayna looked between them.

Maddie handed envelops to Rayna, Deacon, Lamar, June, and Paul. "Open those and you'll understand."

Deacon carefully opened the envelope. He pulled a card out that looked like an invitation. "To the world's best daddy, you are here by promoted to," He paused to open the card. "pawpaw," His face got red and his eyes teared up. "Christ, Maddie,"

"I take it that you're happy." Maddie wiped her eyes. Seeing him cry never failed to make her cry.

"I'm very happy." Deacon picked her up and hugged her tightly. "You are gonna be a great momma."

"Jimmy, come here," Rayna opened her arms to her son-in-law.

JC hugged her. "I have been dyin' to tell ya'll for weeks."

"You are gonna make a wonderful daddy. I've seen you with my little ones." Rayna kissed both his cheeks.

"That means so much to me comin' from you." JC grinned from ear to ear.

"You just do me one favor. If that's a boy please don't name him Vince. This poor baby already has a double dose of those genes." Rayna joked with him.

"We are both very aware of that." Maddie laughed softly.

"You really couldn't hold off, could you?" Daphne teased.

"No, we couldn't wait any longer. Holdin' it in so long was torture." JC's eyes shined when he laughed.

"They held off long enough." Rayna mocked glared at them.

"I didn't want to do this tonight. I didn't want to steal your thunder." Maddie hugged her mom.

"Don't be ridiculous. I think that now was the absolutely perfect time." Rayna hugged her back.

"I guess I'm gonna have to move in with Will for a little while since the places I would normally go to avoid Maddie when she's bein' crazy aren't gonna be any better." JC couldn't resist being a smart ass.

"Trust me on this, the craziness you're 'bout to go through aside. You're not gonna wanna miss a minute of anythin' that's 'bout to happen. It is the most amazin' thing that you'll ever experience." Deacon advised him.

"Thanks, dad, I appreciate that." JC hugged him.

"You're gonna need a lot more than that in the way of advice, but I'm here always." Deacon patted his back while he hugged him.

* * *

"Babe, what are you doing? It's early and we don't have to be at the charity work thing until later." Maddie sat up in bed groggily when she felt JC move.

JC sat on the edge of the bed slipping his feet into his boots. "Go back to sleep this is no earlier than I usually get up. I already got my mornin' workout in and I've had a shower. I have a meetin', but I will be back soon." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Maybe when you get home you can make us some breakfast." Maddie mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, I'll do that." JC laughed softly as she fell back asleep.

He walked outside and got in the truck. He drove to Rayna and Deacon's house. He parked in the driveway and got out. Deacon had wanted to have a talk with him.

"Jimmy, meet me in my den." Deacon called down from the balcony off his bedroom.

"Dad, don't you ever sleep like a normal person?" JC called up to him.

"Nope," Deacon laughed and headed in.

JC used his key to open the front door and walked into the den. He got there a second before Deacon did.

"I'm glad that you could make it this mornin'." Deacon greeted him cordially.

"I was up anyway. I could think of more unpleasant ways to spend my mornin' than with you." JC replied.

"You're a first-class charmer. I know why my daughter fell for you now." Deacon patted him on the back.

JC laughed politely and put his hands in his back pockets. "So, what am I doin' here, dad?"

"You're here, 'cause I have somethin' for ya." Deacon went to the desk that was in the back corner of the room and took something out of the drawer.

"What is it?" JC arched his eyebrow.

Deacon handed him a book. "That is a little somethin' that you're gonna need now that you're gonna be a daddy. It's somethin' that I wish someone would have done for me when I became a father. It's a few tips and secrets that I know."

"You didn't have to do this." JC accepted the book from him.

"I wanted to do it. You're my grandchild's father. I don't want things to be bad between us like they were between my father-in-law and me for years." Deacon smiled.

"I call you dad. I don't think we have to worry 'bout us gettin' along as bad as you and Lamar did." JC flipped through the book and his eyes teared up when he saw one of the entries. "You gave me the recipe for daddy grilled cheese." He knew what that meant between Deacon and his kids.

"It was somethin' that you needed to know. I wanted to give it to you." Deacon smiled.

"Seriously? That's all that's in 'em?" JC looked at him expectantly.

"Butter, bread, cheese, and love. That's the main ingredient, love. Don't tell Maddie that's all it is, 'cause I don't want it to ruin the magic for her. It ain't so much what I put on the sandwich it's that I put every ounce of love I feel for 'em into it." Deacon explained.

"I wouldn't say anythin' to her. I think that this is between me and you. She doesn't have to know everythin' that goes on between us." JC retorted.

"I meant what I said last night. I'm here for you anytime you need me. What you're about to embark on is the most important thing you'll ever do in your life. From now on it's not 'bout what you want it's 'bout what your child needs. For the next eighteen years everythin' you do is 'bout that kid. There will be times when you feel like you're in over your head and that's normal. Every parent feels that way at some point. There's no manual for raisin' a child, you do the best you can do and you pray that's good enough. It takes a village and there is no shame in askin' for help." Deacon advised him.

"I can tell you that I will for sure be askin' for your help. I want this baby more than anythin', but I'm still terrified of screwin' up." JC admitted.

"You'll screw up more than once and that's ok. I don't always know what I'm doin' either. It's a small miracle that I can be left alone with my kids. I was a little older than you when Maddie was born and you know how that turned out. I was older the first time I did this from the start and I was still terrified, but I felt like I was a little better prepared than I would have been at that age. I like to think that you have the most important part of bein' a parent figured out already. You and my little girl are partners and you need to love and respect each other as much as you need to love this baby." Deacon told him.

"I've had the honor of bein' able to watch you with your younger kids and I can tell you that you would've been great with Maddie when she was a baby." JC offered him a smile.

Deacon took a deep, ragged breath. "I appreciate that, Jimmy. I'm tryin' to make you feel better and here you are makin' me feel better."

"Deacon John, why are you up makin' so much noise this mornin'? You've been in and out of the bedroom so much you woke me and baby girl up." Rayna stood in the doorway rubbing her belly.

"Ray, I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake my girls up." Deacon walked over and kissed her cheek. He rubbed her belly at the same time.

"Don't get her riled up. You know how she reacts when she hears her daddy's voice." Rayna smiled softly. "Jimmy, I didn't realize that you were here."

"I was up and I figured that dad was up. I wanted a little guy time." JC answered her.

"In other words, Deacon wanted to have a little talk with you." Rayna corrected him.

"I guess that's his right as a daddy and a new granddaddy to make sure that I toe the line." JC shrugged.

"Damn right it is." Deacon winked at him.

"If you're done with me, I think I'm gonna get goin'. Maddie sleepily requested breakfast from me 'fore I left." JC smiled.

"I'm done with ya. Get on out of here and go feed my babies." Deacon teased.

"I'll take good care of your babies." JC turned to leave.

"While you're takin' care of our babies make sure that you get Maddie to that charity event on time tonight." Rayna pointed a finger at him.

"Don't worry, I hate bein' late. I'll make sure that she gets goin' on time." JC threw her a mock salute as he left.

"He's a good kid and he's gonna make a damn good daddy." Deacon observed.

"He is. We got lucky when it came to that." Rayna agreed with him. "He was right when he said that you would've have been a good daddy to Maddie when she was a baby."

"You don't know how damn much hearin' you say that means to me." Deacon wrapped his arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her neck.

"I don't know if I ever said it, but I know that you needed to hear it." Rayna leaned back against him.

"I did need to hear it." Deacon kissed her neck again. "Now, I need to know what our chances are of sneakin' an early mornin' quickie in."

"Your wife appreciates the thought, but your daughter not so much. I'm so sick to my stomach right now, babe." Rayna turned him down gently.

Deacon sighed and leaned his chin on her shoulder. He laughed softly when he heard the sound of little feet hit the floor. "That's probably for the best. It sounds like your boy is up."

"He's your boy too." Rayna turned around and put her arms around his neck.

"Oh, no, Henry is your boy. He has been since the day he was born." Deacon kissed her and smiled against her lips.

Jack ran into the room. "There you are, momma. I've been lookin' all over for you." He threw his arms around her waist and kissed her belly. "Mornin', baby sister."

"She says good mornin' back." Rayna smiled down at him.

"Come here," Deacon put Jack up on his shoulders. "You give momma a kiss while I give your sissy a kiss." He knelt on the ground so that Jack could reach Rayna to kiss her.

Rayna kissed both of Jack's cheeks. "You are so sweet just like your daddy. Your baby sister loves you so much already." She raked her nails lightly across Deacon's scalp. "And I don't think that I have to tell you how much your little girl already loves her daddy."

"Henry, you wanna help daddy make breakfast for your momma and your baby sister?" Deacon stood. He took Jack down from his shoulders and tossed him up in the air and caught him.

Jack giggled loudly. "I'll help, daddy."

"Baby, you go relax." Deacon tickled Jack and made him giggle louder. "To the kitchen."

"You're so good to me, babe." Rayna rewarded him with a smile.

* * *

"Deacon!" Rayna was standing in front of full length mirror studying herself.

"Yeah, baby?" Deacon walked out of his closet wearing a white dress shirt that was open at the collar.

"Can you zip me up?" Rayna was wearing a dress from the 1960s.

Deacon zipped up her dress and kissed the back of her neck. "You make one spectacular June Carter."

Rayna let out an involuntary moan. She turned to face him. "And you make a damn good Johnny Cash." She buttoned the cuffs on his shirt.

"I believe the line you used on me was I could be Johnny Cash as long as you could be my June Carter." Deacon reminded her.

"I did say that the night we made the boys. I can't believe you still remember that." Rayna's face lit up with a smile.

"We'd been through hell and back with each other that year. We'd gotten back together, I found out 'bout Maddie, there was the car accident, and I fell off the wagon. I fought you and Teddy tooth and nail for Maddie. Surprisingly it was the night we settled custody that you decided you were comfortable 'round me again. So, you can bet your ass that I remember everythin' 'bout that night." Deacon stared deeply into her eyes.

"When you fought me for Maddie you became the man I always knew you were. You did exactly what I'd always wanted you to do. I let myself embrace the possibility of us again. I was still scared, babe. You stayed the course like always and when I knew I was ready for you again you were waitin' for me." Rayna put her arms around him.

"Lovin' each other was never our problem. Our problem was neither of us could fix me no matter how hard we tried." Deacon hugged her tight.

"Instead of pullin' together we tore each other apart. I didn't understand your disease. I thought if you wanted to be sober you'd just do it. I didn't know that as disappointed as I was with you, you were just as disappointed with yourself." Rayna rested her head on his shoulder.

"We've got it right now." Deacon held her a little closer.

"You have a birthday comin' up soon." Rayna reminded him.

"Thirteen years, baby, that's twenty-six years' total. The last thirteen has been a lot better than the first." Deacon brushed her hair back from her face. He kissed her lips softly. "You look so much like your momma tonight."

Rayna's eyes filled with happy tears. "Don't make me cry. It took me a long time to do my makeup. That's very sweet of you to say." She rubbed his biceps. "I don't know if you want to hear this or not, but you are the spittin' image of your daddy. I've seen pictures of him from when he was younger and you are his clone."

"Lookin' like him ain't a problem. It's if I start actin' like him when he'd been drinkin' that we have to worry." Deacon shrugged.

"We should have scratched the Johnny and June idea and gone as Virginia and Paul." Rayna laughed softly.

"Don't joke 'bout that. I ain't so sure if she hadn't been with Watty she wouldn't have gone there and we know he would have." Deacon snorted. He put on his suit jacket.

"Let's get goin'." Rayna led him out of the bedroom by the hand.

"I really have been meanin' to tell you how much I hate this annual costume party charity event we do." Deacon groaned.

"I don't exactly like it either, but it does a lot of good." Rayna replied.

"Let's hope that our girls showed up on time for a change." Deacon changed the subject.

"We don't have to worry about Daphne showin' up on time she's good 'bout that. Maddie is the one that we have to worry about." Rayna corrected him.

"That's true." Deacon agreed with her.

"I think Jimmy has her handled pretty well. It's a good thing too, she's gonna be even worse now." Rayna picked his truck keys up from the counter.

Deacon took his keys from her and fixed her with a weird look. "Ray, we're gonna be grandparents." He laughed.

"You're pretty damn hot for a grandpa." Rayna bit her lip seductively.

"That kid better never call me grandpa. I'm a southern man I've earned the right to be called pawpaw." Deacon looked at her lustfully.

"I guess since I love you so much and we are a package deal that is gonna make me mawmaw. That's so weird to refer to myself as that. When I hear that word I still think about our mothers." Rayna shuddered a little.

"Good news is you're a very sexy mawmaw and you're still a momma." Deacon placed his hand on her belly lovingly.

"You are just tryin' to get laid with all this sweet talkin' and gentlemanly behavior." Rayna flashed him a smile when he helped her into the truck.

Deacon kissed her hand and headed around the other side of the truck and climbed in. "Tell me when it's workin'." He winked as he backed out of the driveway.

"Honey, you know as well as I do that it almost always works. Your chances for gettin' some tonight are lookin' really good." Rayna put her hand on his thigh and gave it a squeeze.

"This is the part of the pregnancy where I get laid a lot." Deacon smirked.

"This is the part of the pregnancy where I am damn near terminally horny." Rayna smirked back.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait between chapters lately, I'm just trying to figure out how to make this all work out. Don't worry I'm still very invested in this story and getting us to the next part. Until next time please review.


	89. Chapter 89

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: Drunk on Your Love and I wanna Be That Song by Brett Eldridge, Broken Wing by Martina McBride, Choctaw County Affair by Carrie Underwood, Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield, and For the Rest of Our Life by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

* * *

Chapter 89

"Here, babe, drink that. It's ginger ale." JC handed Maddie a glass.

"Thanks, honey, I have the worst upset stomach right now." Maddie kissed his cheek.

"At least that means the baby is healthy." JC whispered in her ear.

"You seem to be able to handle my parents better than anyone. You find a way to get us out of here early." Maddie gave him a stern glare.

"I promise that I will get us out of here as early as I can." JC swore to her.

"You do that for me and I will make it worth your while. You are pretty damn sexy in that Green Beret uniform." Maddie rubbed his chest seductively. He was wearing his uniform.

"And you make a damn sexy cowgirl." JC pulled her close and kissed her. She was dressed in a short dress.

Maddie smiled against his lips. "If you were wearing your jeans I would swear that was your belt buckle I was feeling right now."

"You know what you do to me. I don't know why you're surprised." JC lifted his glass of whiskey to his lips and drained it in one gulp.

"You two are in public try not to be gross." Hailey walked over with Max. "Maddie, it's a good thing you're drivin'. He's drinkin' whiskey like his name is Vince."

"He's got a DD for the next six months he better be grateful." Maddie had a little edge in her voice. She wasn't too happy with the amount of drinking he'd been doing.

"That's what Max did every time he knocked me up." Hailey kept her voice low.

"Say that a little louder why don't you?" JC tried to scold her, but it didn't work with the wide smile on his face.

"He is so proud of himself right now." Maddie rolled her eyes playfully.

"As he damn well should be. That is a thing for a man to be proud of." Max clapped his brother-in-law on the back. He was dressed like Waylon Jennings.

"Max, don't encourage him." Maddie groaned.

"Max, you're gonna get me in trouble." JC shook his head.

"Hey, Max, I need you to sign this." Deacon carried a guitar over. He laid it down on the table and handed him a silver marker.

Max studied it. "You let Rayna touch this?"

"I let her touch it long enough to sign it. It's for the auction. The boss thought it would be cool to have the original band sign it." Deacon explained.

"Where are Hayes and Billy? Johnny and Waylon are accounted for. We just need Willie and Kris." Max signed the guitar.

"Max, what are you talking about?" Maddie looked at him confused.

"Jimmy, you need to get ahold of your wife, son. I taught her better than that." Deacon looked at his daughter like she had lost her mind.

"As much as I would love to do that I don't have time for it. If I don't get on that stage right now my mother-in-law will have my ass and I'm not afraid to say I'm scared of her." JC excused himself.

"Maddie, please tell me that you're kiddin' right now." Deacon sighed loudly.

"Relax, daddy, I'm just messing with you. I know who the Highwaymen are. Whose daughter am I? You taught me all about outlaw country." Maddie laughed and kissed his cheek.

"Maddie, if your husband knows what's good for him he will be up on that stage right now." Rayna made her way over.

"He's already on his way up there. He said that you scare him more than I do." Maddie informed her.

"He is smarter than I gave him credit for then. And for the record I think he's pretty damn smart." Rayna smirked.

" _The second she walked through the doo I caught a buzz. One taste of your lips knocked me out just like a drug. The rest of the night's kinda blurry. Now the sun's peakin' through the shades. I can't help, but laugh 'cause I kinda like feelin' this way."_ JC found Maddie in the crowd and winked at her. He did that every time he played this song.

" _I woke up, up still drunk, drunk on your love, love, love. Now I know why I'm feelin' so high, high 'cause I'm still drunk, drunk on your love, on your love, oh yeah."_ He'd written this song after she'd come to him the night of the CMA awards.

" _It's not in the whiskey, tequila, or the wine. It's all about the touch and the fire in your eyes. It gets me fumblin' always stumblin' through a haze. I got plenty to do just layin' here with you all day."_ He closed his eyes and allowed the love he felt for his wife to wash over him.

" _I woke up, up still drunk, drunk on your love, love, love. Now I know why I'm feelin' so high, high 'cause I'm still drunk, drunk on your love, on your love, oh yeah."_

" _Wish I could bottle you up and drink you in all day long. Every day singin' this song."_ He strummed his guitar.

" _I woke up, up still drunk, drunk on your love, love, love. Now I know why I'm feelin' so high, high 'cause I'm still drunk, drunk on your love, on your love, oh yeah. Woke up still drunk on your love. Woke up still drunk on your love. Woke up still drunk on your love. Woke up still drunk on your love. I'm so drunk."_

JC took a breath after he finished singing. "Not many people in this business are lucky enough to get to say that they wrote a song with the great Rayna Jaymes. At the risk of givin' her a bigger head she's pretty amazin' at song writin'. I ain't just sayin' that 'cause she's my boss or my mother-in-law or she taught my boss at home everythin' she knows. I'm sayin' it 'cause it's true. I had the honor of havin' her co-write a few songs on my new album. The song I'm 'bout to play for you is one of 'em."

"It can't be said that he doesn't know how to kiss ass." Rayna nudged Maddie playfully.

"He knows what's good for him." Maddie laughed.

" _The radio and a sundress makin' my world all a mess. Back corner of a corn field. Bottle tops and a true spear. Pull the lever on the seat back laughin' you slippin' off your shoes. While the dashboard speakers sing every word of night moves."_ The tempo on this song was slower.

" _I wanna be that song that gets you high makes you dance makes you fall. That melody rewinds years ones disappeared makes time stall. Wanna be those words that fill you up pull your windows down and keeps you young. Makes you believe you're right where you belong. I wanna be that song. I wanna be, wanna be, wanna be that song. Oh, I wanna be, I wanna, I wanna."_

"Wow, Ray, you touched somethin' in that boy." Deacon marveled.

"Three chords and the truth. That's what the guy I first startin' writin' songs with told me and I stuck to it." Rayna peppered kisses along his jawline.

"Where'd that song come from?" Deacon asked. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Well it was after he asked Maddie to marry him. He told me that he wanted them to have what we have. He just couldn't put it into words correctly. I helped him verbalize it." Rayna finally kissed his lips and smiled.

"You did a damn good job." Deacon gave her ass a playful squeeze.

" _I wanna stand with you in the third row. Window booth at a bar. Back pew on a Sunday pourin' out your heart. When the bleachers are crowded when you're sittin' all alone. When the rain is pourin' and you need somethin' to take you home."_

" _Let me be that song that gets you high makes you dance makes you fall. That melody rewinds years ones disappeared makes time stall. Wanna be those words that fill you up pull your windows down and keeps you young. Makes you believe you're right where you belong. I wanna be that song. I wanna be, wanna be, wanna be that song. Oh, I wanna be, I wanna, I wanna."_

" _When you're searchin' the horizon when your eyes look back. When you're standin' in the moment. Every life has a soundtrack. Oh I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be. I wanna be that song that gets you high. Makes you dance makes you fall. That melody rewinds years ones disappeared makes time stall. Wanna be those words that fill you up pull your windows down and keeps you young. Makes you believe you're right where you belong. I wanna be that song. When the highway's callin'. When the bottle's dry. When the sky is fallin' and you're askin' yourself why. Yeah, oh, I wanna be, yeah, I wanna be, I wanna be."_ JC wailed to end the song.

"Mom, if I didn't know any better I would be jealous that you're writing songs that good with him." Maddie teased her mother.

"I'm madly in love with your father and I was there the day your husband was born. You have nothin' to worry 'bout." Rayna rolled her eyes at her.

* * *

"Well, look at you, Pa." Scarlett kissed her grandfather's cheek.

"That's right I can still fit into my old uniform." Paul hugged her.

"I'm more impressed that June was able to get you out the house to come here. It was a fifty-fifty shot at you or Deacon not showing up." Gunnar shook his hand.

"All men named Deacon Claybourne need to get them to do what they don't wanna do is a strong-willed woman." June laughed.

"My son and I both share a weakness for women who like to tell us what to do. It's the one vice that we could keep after we stopped drinkin'." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"Speakin' of Rayna and Deacon, I wonder where they are." June looked around for her son and daughter-in-law

"June, you probably don't wanna know the answer to that." Gunnar advised her. He'd learned not to ask what those two were up to. The answer would only give him nightmares.

"Ray, what are you doin'?" Deacon had to walk quickly to keep up with his wife who was pulling him along by the hand.

Rayna didn't answer him she just led him into a private bathroom and locked the door behind them.

"Oh, Ray," Deacon's voice dropped an octave and he grinned knowingly. This was far from the first time they'd been in this position.

"After that song and the way my hormones are right now I'm not gonna make it through the rest of the night if you don't take me right here." Rayna pulled him to her by the front of his shirt and kissed him hard.

Deacon ran his hands down her back while they kissed and he cupped her ass. Without warning he lifted her up and sat her on the counter.

Rayna's hands went to his belt and she unbuckled it. She unzipped his pants and fished his erection out of his boxers.

Deacon pulled her panties to the side in a practiced motioned and he slid into her swiftly.

Rayna pulled her lips away from his and bit down on his neck to keep from crying out in passion. She gripped the fabric of his shirt in her hands.

Deacon didn't give her time to adjust he started to pound into her. When she was in this kind of mood she didn't need or want the time to adjust anyway. She wanted him and she wanted him fast.

Rayna wrapped her legs around his waist to draw him into her deeper.

Deacon held on to her thighs as he hammered in and out of her. He knew from experience that neither of them would last long and he was going to make the most of it. He breathed deeply through his nose trying to keep the noise down.

"That's it, fuck me, babe." Rayna panted through gritted teeth.

Deacon gave her exactly what she asked for and then some. He fused his lips to hers and shoved his tongue into her mouth.

"I'm so, so close, baby." She begged him in a plaintive voice.

He changed the angle of his thrusts to get her there.

She wrapped herself around him tightly as she tumbled over the edge.

He followed her a second later biting down on his lip so hard he almost drew blood.

Once they had both come down from their orgasms they looked at each other and laughed.

"It's been a long damn time since we've done somethin' like that, Mrs. Claybourne." Deacon tucked his flaccid member back into his pants and righted his clothes.

"It's been way too long, babe." Rayna righted her clothes and looked in the mirror to make sure she didn't look like she'd just had sex in the bathroom.

Deacon smacked her ass affectionately. "With you I ain't ever gotta worry 'bout gettin' old. I still feel nineteen when I'm with you."

"I still feel like I'm sixteen. I'm so glad that I get to spend every day with you." Rayna put her arms around his neck.

"We better get back out there before they send a search party. You know that the girls both have to go on still. It will be a meltdown if we aren't out there to listen to them." Deacon laughed softly.

"I can't think of anyone else I rather embarrass my children with." Rayna kissed him gently.

"I will gladly embarrass those monsters with you every chance we can." Deacon smiled against her lips.

* * *

" _She loved him like he was the last man on earth. Gave him everything she ever had. He'd break her spirit down the come lovin' up on her. Give a little then take it back. She'd tell him 'bout her dreams. He'd just shoot 'em down. Lord he loved to make her cry. You're crazy for believin' you'll ever leave the ground. He said only angels know how to fly."_ Maddie started her song. She'd written it with June.

She loved being able to do things like that with her father's parents since she didn't have many childhood memories with them. There was no question where Deacon and by proxy she had gotten some of their talent from.

" _And with a broken wing she still sings. She keeps an eye on the sky. With a broken wing she carries her dreams. Man you oughta see her fly."_ This song showed off her impressive register.

" _On Sunday morning she didn't go to church. He wondered why she didn't leave. He went up to the bedroom found a note by the window with a curtain flowin' in the breeze. And with a broken wing she still sings. She keeps an eye on the sky. With broken wing she carries her dreams. Man you oughta see her fly. With a broken wing she carries her dreams. Man you oughta see her fly."_ Maddie held the last note for an impressive amount of time.

"That was amazing to get to do that for you tonight. I wrote that song with my mawmaw and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I come from a long line of musicians. I've got another one for you that I think you're gonna enjoy. It dips into the other side of my gene pool. I think everyone knows that daddy is from Mississippi." Maddie introduced her next song.

" _Well life's been kinda trippy down here in Mississippi and me and Bobby Schaffer been in all newspapers every day for neigh on a year. They say we got tangled in a love triangle a fatal game of truth or dare. But the truth remains a mystery and now it's ancient history it's a Choctaw county affair. It's just a Choctaw county affair. Well, people talkin' 'bout it everywhere."_ Maddie slid up next to JC who was play harmonica for her.

" _Well Cassie O'Grady was no southern lady despite all the media hype. They all love to make her out like a sweet little devout all American cheerleader type. Her mind was catawampus, she was pretty, she was pompous struttin' 'round with her nose in the air. She was cold gold digger ticklin' a hair trigger it's a Choctaw county affair. It's just a Choctaw county affair and now they say she's lyin' dead somewhere."_ She danced on her husband.

" _Well I do not deny I wished Cassie would die when she threatened us with blackmail. She said she had some information that would wreck my reputation and land Bobby back in jail. Now it's best to remember Bobby Schaffer's got a temper like a buck shot grizzly bear. But there's no body there's no witness so ya'll go mind your business it's a Choctaw affair. It's just a Choctaw county affair. Oh, you mess with Bobby and better beware."_

"Momma, you got her to write like this?" Deacon arched his eyebrow at his mother.

"No, I helped her write the first song. You need to look at the man who fathered you on this one." June pointed at Paul.

"She wanted some of her history, so I gave her the woman I dated 'fore I married your momma." Paul shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"She's a lot like him, isn't she?" Rayna asked.

"Ray, I think the whole emancipation thing proved how much she's like him." Deacon shook his head.

" _Well the courts went wild on the day of trail when they put us on the witness stand. They thought we'd turn on each other, but soon they all discovered we would live or die hand in hand. And that fancy DA from down Jackson way said he'd see is the electric chair. But the foreman of the jury told me honey don't you worry it's a Choctaw county affair. Yeah it's just a Choctaw county affair. How would you know 'cause you weren't there? Yeah, it's just a Choctaw county affair."_

"That was both ridiculous and amazin', Paul." Rayna told her father-in-law.

"That's kinda my specialty." Paul grinned at her.

"Deac, we're on stage next." Rayna winked at her husband.

"I keep tellin' ya not to call me that." Deacon laughed.

"And yet I still do sometimes." Rayna grabbed his hand. "Remember I'm doin' my momma's song."

"I know I got it." Deacon rolled his eyes.

" _Billy Ray was a preacher's son and when his daddy would visit he'd come along. When they gathered 'round and started talkin' that's when Billy would take me walkin'. Out through the back yard we'd go walkin'. Then he'd look into my eyes lord knows to my surprise."_ Rayna felt like honoring her mother by doing one of her songs tonight.

Deacon smirked at her as he played guitar.

" _The only one who could ever reach me was the son of preacher man. The only boy who could ever teach was the son of a preacher man. Yes he was, he was, oh, yes he was."_ She bumped Deacon with her hip. This song reminded her of them in a way.

" _Bein' good isn't always easy no matter how hard I try. When he started sweet talkin' to me he'd come and tell me everything is alright. He'd kiss and tell me everything is alright. Can I get away again tonight?"_

" _The only one who could ever reach me was the son of preacher man. The only boy who could ever teach was the son of a preacher man. Yes he was, he was, oh, yes he was."_

" _How well I remember the look that was in his eyes. Stealin' kisses from me on the sly. Takin' time to make time. Tellin' me that he's all mine. Learnin' from each other's knowin' lookin' to see how much we've grown and,"_ Rayna thought she'd done a pretty good job with this song for a change. Normally she didn't feel like she could live up to Virginia.

" _The only one who could ever reach me was the son of preacher man. The only boy who could ever teach was the son of a preacher man. Yes he was, he was, oh, yes he was. He was the sweet talkin' son of a preacher man. The only one who could ever move me was the son of a preacher man. The only one who could ever groove me was the son of a preacher man. Was the son of a preacher man."_

"Well, darlin', I think your momma would be damn proud of ya." Deacon commented.

"You're bein' sweet to me, that means you must want somethin'. That's gonna depend on how you do on this new song." Rayna bantered with him.

Deacon started playing a new song off their dual album. _"Sittin' with you in a dark room. Warm by a fireplace. You know there's just somethin' about you. You brighten my day. I got somethin' to run past you. I just hope I say it right. So I take your hand and ask you have you made plans for the rest of your life."_ He sang softly. They'd snuck away to the cabin one night and this song had been the product. It encompassed their past together and the live they were living now.

" _There's one thing I should be givin' up, givin' up now. And that's worryin' about life. Oh, I'll be fine if one gray hair shows. I'll be fine if my waistline goes. I'll be fine even if time takes its toll. We'll stay young for the rest of our lives."_ They sang together.

Rayna rubbed his shoulder before she took the next verse. _"I've been makin' plans for children since I've been lookin' in your eyes. I even have names picked out for them. Daughter it'd be Rose. Son it'd be Ryan."_

 _Deacon briefly put his hand on her belly. It was no secret that she was pregnant._

" _There's one thing I should be givin' up, givin' up now. And that's worryin' about life. Oh, I'll be fine if one gray hair shows. I'll be fine if my waistline goes. I'll be fine even if time takes its toll. We'll stay young for the rest of our lives."_

" _I don't really care about those storm clouds brewing. Oh, as long as you're here by my side. Oh, we'll be young, oh we'll be young. Oh we'll be young when we're old. Oh, I'll be fine if my gray hair shows. I'll be fine if my waistline goes. I'll be fine even when time takes its toll. I'll stay young for the rest of my life. With you, I'll stay young for the rest of my life. With you. We'll stay young for the rest of our life."_ They weren't aware that anyone else was in the room as they stared deeply into each other's eyes.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	90. Chapter 90

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 90

"Maddie, do you need help with anything in the kitchen?" Rayna asked her daughter.

Maddie and JC had invited Rayna, Deacon, Teddy, and Claire over for dinner.

"No, mom, I've got it under control." Maddie called from the kitchen.

"No worries, I have a fire extinguisher in there if things get outta hand." JC joked lowly so his wife didn't hear him.

"She's like her momma used to be. She thinks that fire alarm means the food is done." Deacon laughed.

"Even I wasn't as bad as she is." Rayna defended herself.

"I don't think anyone is as bad as she is, Momma Ray. I've had to choke down some of the nastiest shit. I eat it so I don't hurt her feelings. Even the dog has to lick his ass after he eats it to get the taste outta his mouth." JC shivered at the thought.

"That is absolutely horrible. Does she know you talk about her like that?" Claire tittered.

"She knows and she tells me to shut the hell up." JC smirked. "Teddy, let me get you another drink."

"I'd appreciate that." Teddy handed him his glass.

JC took both their glasses to the side bar and refilled them. "Maddie didn't know what kind of scotch you drink and I'm not a scotch drinker, so I did my best. I know nothin' 'bout it and I don't like the taste. Give me a good bourbon any day of the week." He gave Teddy his glass back. He took Claire's wine glass and poured more into it.

"This is just fine. I don't understand what it is with young people today. Greg and Connor don't like scotch either. Maddie obviously likes her bourbon she came by that naturally. And Daphne won't touch it." Teddy replied.

Rayna squeezed Deacon's thigh to keep him from saying something.

"The way I hear tell I was born with a shot glass in my hand and that shot glass was filled with bourbon." JC cracked.

"You ain't far from the truth." Deacon snorted.

"So, JC, how is impending fatherhood treating you?" Claire asked.

"It's great. I'm so excited." JC smiled as Maddie came back into the room.

"Excited is the understatement of the year." Maddie corrected him.

"I remember when Rayna was pregnant with Maddie. I was terrified. It was all coming on so fast. I'd barely gotten the hang of taking care of myself. I was used to being single. Now I was had a wife and we were gonna have a baby to take care of. I spent the entire pregnancy a nervous wreck. I was excited, but I was nervous. My heart swelled every time I saw Rayna's body change. I got terrified again when I found out we were having a girl. A boy I could deal with and relate to. I had no idea how to handle a girl. All those fears melted away the first time I held her in my arms. I knew that I'd do whatever it took to protect her and shield her from all the bad things in life." Teddy reported.

Deacon stood up and cleared his throat.

"Babe, what are you doin'?" Rayna asked him.

"We left two ten-year-olds at home in charge of the nine-year-old and the five-year-old. I'm gonna go outside and check on 'em. I can see the house from here. If it ain't on fire I'm gonna count that as a win." Deacon walked outside.

"Really, mom? You left Deac and Jayme in charge?" Maddie's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"No, I left Deac in charge. We ordered them pizza and plied them with every kinda candy they like. They should be fine for a few hours." Rayna shrugged.

"What that really means is Charlie is in charge and those boys will do whatever she tells them to." JC pointed out.

"I'm pretty much counting on that." Rayna agreed with him.

Deacon came back in laughing. "I love 'em and it's a damn good thing."

"What were they doing?" Rayna asked.

"Nothin' bad. I can just hear the music playin' all the way up here." Deacon sat down.

"Anyway, as I was saying. I've been around kids my whole life. I'm considerably younger than my brothers and sisters, so I was around their kids growin' up. I'm just really happy." JC got back on subject.

"The first time I found out I was gonna be a father I read every book I could get my hands on. I knew how to deal with Maddie, but she could mostly take care of herself. We had just gotten past the point of bein' awkward with each other and here I was gettin' two who were gonna rely on me for everythin'. Once I got over my case of nerves I was just excited to have those boys in my arms. As happy as I was the day they were born, everythin' stood still the day I met my Charlie." Deacon put his arm around Rayna's shoulders.

Maddie looked over at her dad.

"Sorry, Princess, you know I love you too." Deacon winked at her.

"It's ok, we're both daddy's girls. We know we have to share you. We both have vastly different relationships with you, though. She goes hunting, fishing, and camping with you. She saves me from having to go. Even the boys aren't always up for your antics." Maddie teased him.

"No one has no idea how much I hope this baby is a boy. Havin' daughters just makes you crazy. I'm close enough to goin' to prison on any given day as it is." JC sighed.

"You would be the perfect daddy to a little girl." Rayna rested her hand on her stomach and laughed. "I'm not talkin' to your daddy I'm talkin' to your big brother. Behave in there, little girl."

Deacon reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. "Hi, baby girl, daddy's here."

"Deacon, are you excited to be having another daughter?" Claire tried to make conversation with him.

"It don't show at all does it?" Deacon smirked.

"Not at all. You should really work on acting like they are important to you." Claire smiled at him.

"He loves his sons, but he has a very big soft spot for all four of his daughters. We have this game we play called they ask me permission to do something and I say no, then they go ask daddy and he says yes. He's getting better about it. At least now he asks what did your mother say. Not that that makes a difference to him he has them all rotten." Rayna arched her eyebrow at Deacon.

"He finally got Daphne that pony she'd been angling for, for years." Teddy laughed.

"Ya'll laugh and make fun of me all you want. I got screwed on that deal. She was supposed to keep an eye on Maddie when we were outta the house and not let her sneak Jimmy up to her room. Squirt fell down on the job." Deacon raised his hands in a sign of innocence.

"You didn't have to bribe her to spy on me. She loved stalking my life. She would have done it for free." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Maddie, you're gonna wanna go check on that roast. I'm sure your mawmaw told you to warm it in the oven and not burn it." Deacon hid his grin behind his hand.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, dad." Maddie glared at him.

"Maddie, I love you, but there is no way in hell that you made a roast that smells that good on your first try. You had your mawmaw make it for you." Deacon couldn't help laughing.

"You're damn right I did. She even sent over two meat loafs for dad. She knows how much he loves it and she said he's looking too thin." Maddie admitted to her sins.

"Deacon, don't take this the wrong way, but I may be in love with your mother. Or her cooking I'm not sure which one is true." Teddy's face lit up.

"She loves to cook for whoever she can get to sit long enough. I think she likes you alright. I wouldn't profess my love for her if I were you though. Paul is still in fightin' shape. He'd kick your ass for puttin' the moves on his woman." Deacon teased.

"I'm pretty fond of your mother too. I don't know your father well enough." Teddy replied.

"I can tell you that he doesn't like you at all and it's in your best interests to give him a wide berth." Deacon advised him.

"I know how to deal with ill-tempered old men." Teddy assured him.

"You've never quite met another one like him. He's where Maddie gets her bark from." Deacon corrected him.

"I better go take that roast out." Maddie started to get to her feet.

"Don't you dare, I will take care of it." JC waved for her to keep her seat. He went into the kitchen.

"He waits on her hand and foot doesn't he?" Claire observed.

"He really does. I couldn't have asked for a better husband for her or a better father for my grandchild." Rayna smiled softly.

"It's weird saying that, isn't it?" Teddy asked her.

"It's so weird it seems like just yesterday I… we were bringing her home." Rayna agreed with him.

"I can't believe I'm old enough to be a grandfather." Teddy said in awe.

Deacon tried not to show any outward signs of frustration, but he sighed.

"Hey, ya'll, dinner is ready." JC called out.

They all got up to go into the kitchen.

"Teddy, can I have a minute?" Rayna hung back.

"Sure thing," Teddy agreed.

"I don't care what this baby calls you, but it can't be any form of grandpa. It can be somethin' that you make up that's special, but we can't do that to him." Rayna told him.

"Why not?" Teddy asked.

"Don't you think we've hurt him enough for one lifetime? There's a reason he got up and went outside just a minute ago. I want you two to be able to be civil to each other, but that's only gonna go so far." Rayna explained.

"Whatever you need to do to make him feel better." Teddy rolled his eyes.

"If you think this is unfair to you think about how unfair what we did to him was. And don't throw that crap about Daphne back in my face. He stepped in because you asked him to. He didn't have a choice. I don't want him to be this sad for the rest of his life. I need to end this once and for all. He's got no problem sharin' her love with you. I don't think he should be expected to share the grandfather title." Rayna tried to express her feelings, but she wasn't coming across the way she'd hoped.

"I understand what you're saying. I can go along with it to make things easier on Maddie. I've come to terms with it, Rayna. He's her father and she loves him. They had so much taken from them by two people who should have known better." Teddy agreed.

"Thank you," Rayna breathed a sigh of relief.

Teddy shook his head and smiled. "No wonder Deacon is a push over when it comes to his girls. They have you in them. You're a very hard person to tell no."

"It's all part of my charm." Rayna laughed.

* * *

Static crackled over the hand-held radio that Deacon had in the front pocket of his bibs. He was up in a tree stand on the ranch.

"Guitar Man, this is Pistol, come in." Charlie's voice came over the radio.

Deacon took the radio out of his pocket and hit the transmit key. "Pistol, this is Guitar Man, come on."

"You need to come over to my blind. I just shot a deer and I need some help." Charlie chirped happily.

"On my way, Guitar Man, out." Deacon climbed down from the stand and headed to where he'd left his daughter. After that dinner with Teddy he'd decided to log some quality time in with the daughter he didn't have to share. Those two had an unshakable bond.

Charlie stepped out of her blind when she saw him approach. She'd obeyed the rule that if she shot something she wasn't to leave the blind to track it without waiting for him to go with her.

"Where's the deer, Pistol?" Deacon asked.

Charlie pointed in the direction the deer had gone. "He went that way, daddy."

"Come on, let's go track him." Deacon put his bow in her blind.

The pair headed in the direction the deer had gone.

"Look, daddy, there's a drop of blood." Charlie pointed out excitedly.

"Let's see if we can find another one." Deacon took her hand.

Soon enough a few drops of blood had turned into a massive blood trail. At the end of it a twelve-point buck lay on the ground dead.

Deacon raised his hand in the air. "Give you daddy some love."

Charlie high fived him and smiled.

"Way to go, Pistol." Deacon gave her a big hug. "Daddy is so proud of you."

"Thanks, daddy." Charlie was clearly pleased with herself.

"Go get the Gator we drove down here on. I need to load this deer in the back." Deacon told her.

"I'm on it." Charlie ran off and jumped on the Gator. She'd been driving that since she was big enough to reach the pedals.

While she was doing that Deacon, field dressed the deer. He didn't want to hear from Rayna if he did it any closer to the house.

Charlie pulled up on the Gator. "Got it, daddy."

"That's my girl." Deacon loaded the deer into the bed and climbed behind the wheel. He drove them up to the house and parked. He opened the patio door and yelled in. "Ray, come on out here a minute."

Rayna came out of the house with her hands on her back supporting the girth of her pregnant belly. "What do ya'll need?"

Deacon unloaded the deer and laid it on the ground. "Look what our girl did, momma." He was about to burst with pride.

"Deacon John, we have an agreement you won't kill the deer that are my pets." Rayna scolded him. "That's a good job, Charlie." She added for her daughter's benefit.

"Can we get a picture?" Charlie bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Of course, I can take a picture." Rayna smiled at her.

Rayna took several pictures of the pair. She was sure that at least one of them was going to end up on the mantel whether she wanted them to or not. It made her so happy to see those two interact together. It helped heal the part of her heart that was scarred from what she'd done with Maddie.

"Ok, I think that's enough pictures. We gotta tag this thing and take it to be processed." Deacon wiped his face.

"First, ya'll need a shower. She smell horrible." Rayna waved her hand in front of her face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we hear ya talkin'." Deacon winked at her.

* * *

JC was sprawled out naked face down on the bed snoring like he hadn't slept in ten years.

Maddie looked at him disgustedly and rolled her eyes. She leaned over and shook him gently. "Jimmy, wake up."

JC grunted and waved his hand around.

Maddie jumped back before he could make contact with her. She shook him again. "James, wake up right now."

JC sat up and grabbed his forehead with a groan. "Huh? What's goin' on?"

"It's two in the afternoon that's was going on. The sad thing is you're getting so good at this I didn't even realize that you were drunk until after I had sex with you and you passed out." Maddie seethed.

"Ow, Maddie, can we not do this right now?" JC rubbed his temples.

"We are gonna do this now or we aren't doing it at all." Maddie yelled at him.

"Cricket, please keep your voice down." JC squinted his eyes at block out the light coming through the windows.

"Don't you Cricket me right now you son of a bitch. Where the hell were you last night?" Maddie demanded.

"I was with Will, Mack, and Rhett. I hope that you ain't suggestin' that I was cheatin' on you." JC scowled.

Maddie's jaw dropped. "That's actually the last thing I thought. What I thought was you got drunk out of your mind and then came home."

"I wasn't that drunk. I was just drunk enough to have a very bad hangover right now." JC corrected her.

"Well, that is a relief. Now, I know that you were probably pouring whiskey down your throat like it was water." Maddie scoffed.

"Why are you so hell bent on fightin' with me today?" JC grumbled.

"I'm not hell bent on fighting with you. You're no good to me or this baby if you're constantly drunk." Maddie crossed her arms over her chest.

"That ain't fair and you know it. I'm not constantly drunk." JC defended himself.

"Let me rephrase then. You're just drunk every chance you get." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I don't get drunk every chance I get either." JC objected.

"No, you're just always drinking." Maddie snapped at him.

"What the hell is your problem?" JC demanded.

"My problem is I can't make a life with you or raise a family with you if you won't deal with what's bothering you. I can promise you that you won't find the answer at the bottom of a bottle." Maddie started crying.

"Babe, what are you sayin'?" JC searched her face for an answer.

"I'm saying that you either clean up your act or I'm leaving you and I'm taking our child with me." Maddie spelled it out for him.

"Maddie, come on. You wouldn't really do that to me." JC ran his hands over his face.

"I don't want to do that to you, but I will." Maddie told him firmly.

"I'm not an alcoholic." JC pointed out to her.

"I know you're not, but you won't get help either. You keep using alcohol to help chase away the demons that are after you. Your father decided that he rather drink than be a father to you. I can't take the chance that you will make the same choice." Maddie shook her head sadly.

"Wait just a damn minute. I ain't my father and you ain't your mother. Stop tryin' to make this into somethin' it ain't." JC flared.

"But you could be easily." Maddie yelled.

"So, could you! I'm not the only one in this relationship with alcoholic genes." JC reminded her.

"I'm not gonna do this with you right now. You take the day and decide what the hell is more important to you." Maddie stormed out.

"Maddie, what's wrong, sweetheart?" Rayna opened the door to her oldest daughter.

"I just had a really big fight with Jimmy and I may have blown things outta proportion. I threatened to leave him and take the baby from him." Maddie laid her head on her mother's shoulder and cried like her heart was breaking.

"Come in and tell me what happened." Rayna led her into the living room and sat down with her on the couch.

"He came home late last night. He was out with Will, Mack, and Rhett. I didn't realize he was drunk until he rolled off the top of me and passed out. I just woke him up and I only intended to talk to him about it and I got mad. I said some things to him that I probably shouldn't have said. I accused him of being like Vince." Maddie explained to her.

"I think my first question for you is how much is he drinking?" Rayna asked her.

"He's a damn cowboy he usually has at least two beers before dinner, but not enough to get drunk. It's when we go out. He starts in on the whiskey and he drinks it like it's water. I don't know that he has a drinking problem. I just know that he has demons he won't address." Maddie wiped her tears.

"Hey, babe, can you bring me two glasses of tea in here?" Rayna called out to Deacon.

"Yeah, I'll be right in there." Deacon called back.

"Just from that I can't tell you if he's an alcoholic, but I can tell you what it's like to live with an alcoholic. You can never depend on them for anythin'. They are ill tempered and can be violent." Rayna laid out for her.

Deacon came in with the tea that she had requested. He smiled and then it faltered with he saw his daughter in tears. "You say the word and I'll go kick his ass."

"No, daddy, don't do that. It'll only make things worse." Maddie waved off his offer.

"What's goin' on?" Deacon asked.

"She had a fight with JC about his drinkin'." Rayna explained briefly.

"You watch her, I will be right back." Deacon set his jaw in a firm line.

"Deacon," Rayna said his name in a warning tone.

"Don't worry I'm gonna take care of this." Deacon reassured her.

"I do worry. I know what your temper is like." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"I ain't gonna do anythin' to hurt him. I like the kid." Deacon sighed loudly.

"Maybe if dad talked to him he'd act better." Maddie piped up.

"I guess it can't hurt." Rayna granted the point.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We are coming close to the end of this story. I think it only has about ten-twenty more chapters to go and then we get to start on the third installment. I know that the last chapter is gonna fast forward five or so years. If there's anything you'd like to see just let me know. Until next time please review.


	91. Chapter 91

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 91

Deacon pounded on Maddie and JC's front door. He waited for his son-in-law to come to the door. When that didn't happen, he took out the key they had given him and unlocked the door. Every light in the house was off save for the tv in the living room. JC was passed out on the couch. He went into the kitchen and filled a pitcher with water. He went back into the living room and poured the water over JC's head.

JC sat up sputtering and coughing. "What the fuck?"

"Mornin', Sunshine," Deacon stood over him.

"Dad, what the hell was that for?" JC demanded.

"I thought you needed a proper wake up call." Deacon deadpanned.

"What are you doin' here?" JC tried to clear the cobwebs out of his brain.

"When my daughter comes to me in tears 'cause of you, you can bet your ass that I'm gonna come down here and we're gonna talk." Deacon crossed his arms over his chest.

"She's blowin' this whole thing outta proportion. I ain't a damn drunk." JC replied.

"How 'bout you tell me why you're drinkin' so much then?" Deacon asked not unkindly.

"I told Maddie what my issue is and I'm sure she told you or Rayna. I just don't want that on my record." JC sighed.

"You'd rather it be put down on your record that you're an unreliable drunk?" Deacon grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the sidebar. "You see this? I open this and take a drink I become the last person in the world you wanna associate with. You think it's gonna take away your problems, but you're wrong. It's only gonna give you trouble."

"I know if I go to the shrink the only thing that they are gonna tell me is I have PTSD. They may never send me back out in the field again if it's so bad I can't get over it. I've worked my ass off to get to where I am. I have somethin' like nine years left before I can draw a pension." JC explained.

"You know, maybe I ain't the one to talk to you 'bout this. I can't relate to that aspect of it." Deacon took out his phone and made a call. "Hey, I need you to come over to Maddie's place now." He spoke briefly before he hung up.

Fifteen minutes later Paul walked in the front door.

"Good God, Paul, you are gonna get one hell of a ticket one of these days." Deacon shook his head at his father.

"That wouldn't stop me and we both know it." Paul shrugged. "What am I doin' here?"

"Talk some sense into that boy. He thinks that gettin' treatment for his PTSD is gonna make him look weak." Deacon pointed at JC.

"PTSD is a serious thing. All the whiskey in the world ain't gonna make it go away. You'll still have the nightmares and you'll still be in the middle of a conversation when suddenly you'll be back there in your mind." Paul spoke wisely.

"In my shoes what would you have done?" JC asked him.

"We know what I did in your shoes. I damn near drank myself to death, I beat on my wife, I beat my kids. I pulled a gun on my first-born son. I cheated on a woman I'd already put through hell. I had a good woman who I left to raise a son alone." Paul answered him.

"How'd it get better?" JC sighed.

"It didn't get better 'til I got outta prison. I wrecked my liver and the son I'd abused mercilessly saved my life. I had no choice I had to get clean and sober for the first time in a long time. The therapy I went through in the rehab center did me a world of good. It finally helped me put those demons behind me." Paul replied.

"Let's be clear I don't have a drinkin' problem." JC defended himself.

"You don't wanna get one either." Deacon gave him a look.

"You have a wife and a baby on the way. You don't wanna miss out on that. You may not wanna do therapy or take a pill, but it ain't just yourself you got to think 'bout anymore. It ain't a choice you'd make for yourself, you have to make the choice for them." Paul added.

JC ran his hands over his face. "I love Maddie and the baby more than anythin'. I'd do anythin' for 'em. I don't wanna lose my wife or my child. If I have to fight for them then so be it."

"I think you should probably hash this thing out with your wife. Get yourself together and give her a little time. And when I say time give her a couple hours with her momma to calm down. Trust me on this one, that girl has my temper and you want her to be raged out." Deacon advised him.

"Christ, I need a beer to think straight. I outta kick Rhett's ass for buyin' double shots of whiskey all night." JC sat on the edge of the couch.

"No!" Deacon and Paul said in unison.

"Jesus," JC grabbed his temples.

"You're only gonna make it worse if you have a beer. Have a belt or two of whiskey." Paul clarified.

"Rhett still poppin' them pills like candy?" Deacon was concerned for his little brother. He came from a family of addicts.

"If he is I didn't notice last night. Of course, I was gettin' hammered too, so I don't know. He was complainin' 'bout still bein' in pain." JC opened a bottle of whiskey and drank straight from it.

"That's why she thinks you're an alcoholic." Paul pointed out to him.

"I've done this since she met me." JC took another pull and sat the bottle down.

"Ok, here is what you're gonna do. You're gonna get cleaned up and get your head on straight. Then you're gonna come up with some grand romantic gesture to make things up to your wife. Trust me on this one, you're really gonna wanna nail that part. I'm goin' home." Deacon patted him on the back. "Dad, you comin' with me or you stayin' with him?"

"I'm gonna come with you. That girl of yours sent me a picture of that buck she shot. I figured you were gonna need help." Paul replied.

"We gotta butcher it out in the barn. You know what my wife is like if we mess up her kitchen." Deacon pointed out.

"You ain't gotta tell me what your wife is like." Paul laughed.

* * *

"Mom, why are men so oblivious?" Maddie asked.

"I don't think they mean to be. At least most of them don't. Despite the problems you're havin' with him right now you have one of the good ones." Rayna replied.

"I think I was a little too hard on him earlier." Maddie admitted.

"There are gonna be times like that." Rayna assured her.

"He makes me so crazy sometimes that I can't think straight." Maddie sighed.

"That's what happens when you love someone so much." Rayna had to grant her point on that one. Deacon made her so crazy sometimes that she didn't know what planet she was on.

"Why does it have to be like that?" Maddie put her hands over her face.

"Honey, you've just asked a question that I don't have an answer to. Maybe ask Aunt Tandy she thinks she knows everything." Rayna pointed to her sister.

"Because men are jackasses and they can't help themselves." Tandy answered dryly.

"Oh, whoa, cease fire. At least for as long as it takes me to get my huntin' bag I left in here. The knife I need is in it." Deacon walked in with his hands held up in a sign of surrender.

"What do you need your hunting knife for?" Rayna questioned him.

"Me and my daddy are gonna go butcher that deer." Deacon answered.

"You told me when she shot that deer that you were gonna take it to have it processed." Rayna arched her eyebrow at him.

"That was before I decided to save money and butcher it myself." Deacon retorted.

"Absolutely not, the last time I let you butcher a deer here you had hair all over the kitchen." Rayna put her foot down.

"Rayna, I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna cut up that deer." Deacon stood firm.

"You're not bringing it into my kitchen." Rayna changed her tune.

"I won't bring it into your kitchen until it's clean." Deacon bargained.

"Fine, I can live with that." Rayna sighed.

"I think that's a good compromise anyway." Deacon winked at her. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"An even better compromise would be for you to do it out in the bunk house." Rayna stared him down.

"I can't do it out in the bunk house. The kitchen out there sucks." Deacon retorted.

"Deacon, do you really wanna piss off your pregnant wife?" Rayna inquired.

"This time I think I'll risk it." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

Rayna pointed her finger at him in a threatening manner. "Just get outta my sight."

"Whatever you say, babe." Deacon shook his head and went outside.

"That was a prime example of men bein' a pain in the ass to live with. He knows that I hate for him to butcher his own deer. He makes a mess and then I have to clean it up, because he doesn't do a good enough job." Rayna rubbed her temples.

"I warned you about that man many times." Tandy pointed out to her.

"Tandy, be nice. I'm allowed to be bitchy about him you're not." Rayna glared at her.

"Holy hell batman, three pregnant women in one room I think I'm regretting coming to find my wife." Bucky walked in.

"Your options are us or the barn with Deacon and Paul who are cleaning a deer." Rayna informed him.

"I need to get some papers signed by you two." Bucky held up his briefcase.

"What kinda papers?" Rayna asked.

"Papers that my assistant brought over to me." Bucky took the papers out.

"Do you ever give your assistant a day off?" Maddie inquired.

"No, I'm a very busy man. I don't get a day off neither does my assistant. I can't leave things like these go. If I do they get piled up and I have a hard time getting your mother to get through them." Bucky answered. "Ray, please sign the papers. I promise I will leave you alone."

"I've learned not to trust you when it comes to things like that, but I'll let it go." Rayna signed the papers he put in front of her.

"With that taken care of. I think I'm gonna go amuse myself with Jack. I need the practice." Bucky knew he would be better off excusing himself from the powder keg in the room.

"He's out in the barn with Paul and Deacon. This is what they expose my children to." Rayna rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I think it's gonna be safer out there than in here." Bucky excused himself.

About an hour later JC walked into the room. "There are a whole lotta hormones in this room. I shoulda brought protection. I promise I come in peace." He put his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"You sure you wanna come in here with that attitude?" Tandy asked him.

JC marched over to Maddie and handed her a piece of folded up paper. "I love you, I was wrong, I'm sorry, and you win. You know I'd do anythin' in this world for you, but don't ever threaten to take my child away from me again." His eyes teared up.

Maddie unfolded the paper and read it. "You went to a shrink and you got a doctor's note. You are so ridiculously wonderful." She got up and kissed him. "I'm sorry, I was wrong to say that to you."

"The shrink told me what I'm feelin' is normal and I need to give myself a break." JC informed her.

"I agree with the shrink. Cut yourself a break. You can't take the weight of the world on your shoulders." Maddie put her arms around his neck.

"I want you to know how much I hate this, but I'm doin' it for you and the baby." JC rested his forehead against hers.

"And that is why I love you." Maddie kissed him over and over.

JC pulled her to him and pressed his body against hers.

"Ok, that's enough outta both of ya." Rayna broke them up.

"Dad, is out in the barn with the Pa doing something with a deer that I want no part of. If you wanna go join him." Maddie pulled away from him.

"Oh yeah, I wanna go out there and see that. Charlie sent me a picture of that monster buck. I wanna see it in person." JC kissed one more time before he went outside.

"These men that we love all have somethin' wrong with 'em." Rayna observed.

"I wonder how much I would have to pay them to get to take Bucky with them on their annual hunting trip." Tandy mused.

"You won't have to pay them I'll have to pay Buck to go with 'em. I'm askin' Deacon to take Teddy and that's not gonna go over well." Rayna snorted.

"Mom, why do you have to tempt fate like that?" Maddie gave her a look.

"It's to make things easier on you girls." Rayna explained.

"Do you have to take dad's happy place away from him like that?" Maddie sighed.

"It's not gonna kill him to be nice for a few days." Rayna reassured her.

"I guess we will see about that." Maddie retorted.

"You're not the only one who thinks this is a horrible idea, Maddie." Tandy agreed with her niece.

"Oh, you two, stop." Rayna waved off their concern.

"Mom, he's gonna say not only no, but hell no. Let him have his hunting weekend with the guys. It's a bad idea to stuff Teddy down his throat." Maddie advised her.

"Fine, you're probably right." Rayna let herself be talked out of what she knew deep down to be a bad idea.

"You can't ask that much out of him. Even I will admit that it goes over the line." Tandy supported Maddie.

"Ok, ok, I'll scrap the idea." Rayna promised.

* * *

"This is a really nice home you have, Senator Conrad." Joel told Teddy politely.

Daphne hadn't been able to escape having dinner with her father while he was in town.

"Joel, please call me Teddy." Teddy smiled and handed him a drink.

"Whatever you want." Joel agreed.

"Joel, don't be nervous. He's harmless." Daphne assured him.

"Please call him Teddy he likes to think of himself as a man of the people." Claire added.

"I should probably tell you that I'm not registered to vote in Tennessee." Joel joked.

"Son, everyone should be registered to vote in Tennessee." Teddy put on his charming politician act.

"Dad, leave him alone." Daphne called him down.

"I'm just playing around with him." Teddy assured her.

"Don't scare him away. I like this one." Daphne warned him.

"I like this one almost as much as I like the one who married your sister. I don't wanna do anything to chase him off." Teddy patted Joel's back.

"I guess I'm still just waitin' on Jack's approval then." Joel laughed.

"He's my baby he's gonna take a while to warm up to you." Daphne kissed his cheek.

"Claire, she's talking about her youngest brother. If you meet any of her three brothers it has to be that one. He's hilarious." Teddy explained.

"That kid scares the hell out of me." Joel admitted.

"Just because he told you to stop freezing in the pocket." Daphne laced their fingers together.

"I don't freeze in the pocket. It looks like I freeze in the pocket sometimes, but I don't." Joel grumbled.

"Joel, you freeze in the pocket. I've seen you play before." Daphne called him out.

"Listen to this. I teach the girl a few things about football and she's on my ass 'bout it." Joel winked.

"I knew a few things about football before we started dating. My brothers all play football." Daphne corrected him.

"Tell yourself whatever you need to, Sugar." Joel smirked.

"You are aware that I'm under no obligation to date you right?" Daphne arched her eyebrow.

"Shots fired," Teddy pretended to duck for cover.

"Dad, please don't encourage him either." Daphne groaned.

"This is fun for me." Teddy laughed.

"Theodore, behave yourself." Claire warned him. "He also enjoys getting Connor and Greg going." She added for Daphne's benefit.

"I lived in a house with three women for thirteen years. If I wanna have a little fun with the young men they are with then that is my right." Teddy retorted.

"Maybe you'll get lucky and you'll get grandsons." Claire teased him.

"Dad told Jimmy about some old wives' tales and now he's doing everything he can to ensure Maddie is having a boy. We keep teasing him that Maddie is having a girl because mom and Aunt Tandy are." Daphne spoke up.

"I thought Jimmy told you not to put that bad juju on him?" Joel reminded her.

"He can deal with it. I think he would be adorable with a little girl." Daphne blew off his concern.

"Let's talk about you for a little while." Teddy patted his daughter's knee.

"I'm not all that exciting. I just have a new album coming out." Daphne replied.

"Well, how was the tour?" Teddy asked her.

"The tour was typical. It went better than expected. I've had two really great singles released. And I'm gonna be home all through the holidays. I'm happy about that." Daphne listed.

"You're not very talkative are you?" Teddy teased lightly.

"I just don't have much to say." Daphne gave him a smile to assure him everything was ok.

"What's on your plate career wise?" Claire tried to get Daphne to open up to her.

"My mother had the bright idea to put out a Christmas album from the whole label. We all have to go in and record a song for that. Thankfully it's something that can be put together quickly." Daphne explained.

"Where does your mother get her bright ideas?" Teddy kissed her temple.

"I think dad gave her that bright idea to get her out of his hair. She's a dangerous woman when she's pregnant. We keep her as busy as possible. I think that it's a good idea. That also means I have to sit down with Maddie and write a song. My sister has the attention span of a gnat right now." Daphne sighed.

"Is it exhausting being her sister? I have a sister a little bit like Maddie. Takes up all the attention in the room at all times." Claire observed.

"Maddie is Maddie. I love her to death I will defend her until my last breath. It is so exhausting being her sister. It's her way. She has a huge heart, she would do anything for me, and she is very protective. That is when she remembers there are people in the world other than her. She always has the biggest ego in the room. That's why her and my mom butt heads so often." Daphne defended her sister, but admitted that Maddie could be a pill.

"Ya'll are so mean to each other, but you get out for blood the minute anyone else says anythin'." Joel sipped his drink.

"No one messes with us, but us." Daphne told him the motto Deacon had taught them.

"I've seen snakes I rather tangle with than ya'll." Joel admitted.

"Just remember what we're capable of and stay on my good side." Daphne laughed and patted his cheek.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	92. Chapter 92

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 92

"There you are. I was starting to think that you weren't gonna make it." Maddie was on the exam table in her doctor's office.

"I wasn't gonna miss this for anythin' in the world. I was just at my shrinks' office." JC rolled his eyes. He was hating every minute of being in therapy.

"You're the one who chose to see the shrink so many times a week. You think that you have to do this as quickly as possible." Maddie pointed out to him.

"Don't remind me." JC grunted. "Where is your doctor?"

"She should be in any minute. I haven't been here that long." Maddie took his hand.

"I've been waitin' for this appointment since you told me you're pregnant." JC squeezed her hand.

"I think that I wanna be surprised." Maddie said with a straight face.

"Then you're just gonna have to plug your ears and hum. I wanna know the sex." JC frowned slightly.

"Babe, I'm kidding. I want to know the sex too." Maddie laughed at him.

JC breathed a sigh of relief. "You know better than to mess with me like that."

"I wouldn't mess with you if I didn't know the type of reaction I would get out of you." Maddie pulled him down so she could kiss him.

JC smiled against her lips. "Hey, Cricket,"

"I missed you this morning. You weren't home when I woke up." Maddie wrapped her arms around his neck.

Her doctor walked in and cleared her throat. "This is far from the first time I walked in on something like this and it won't be the last." She chuckled.

"We are newlyweds we get a break. If you ever met my in-laws you'd know that we are bein' tame." JC joked.

"Jimmy, behave." Maddie chastised him lightly. "Dr. Baker, this is my husband, Jimmy."

"It's nice to meet you, dad. You ready to see your baby?" Dr. Baker replied.

"I'm so ready." JC grinned goofily.

"You came on a good day. We are just doing the scan. You won't have to see any of the real unpleasant stuff." Dr. Baker lifted Maddie's gown.

"That's what I like to hear." JC took a deep breath.

"He likes to think that he's gonna get out of being in the delivery room." Maddie informed the doctor.

"I'm sure he's just pulling your leg." She grabbed the gel. "Now, remember, this is going to be a little cold." She squirted the gel on her stomach.

Maddie winced a little.

"You ok?" JC's brow was wrinkled with concern.

"Yeah, it was just cold." Maddie smiled and gripped his hand.

Dr. Baker moved the wand around and the loud whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of the baby's heartbeat filled the room. "That's a good strong heartbeat. That's what we want to hear."

"Wow," Maddie's eyes teared up.

"That's 'bout the sweetest thing I ever heard." JC cleared his throat.

Dr. Baker moved the wand around some more. "There we have the feet and some long legs and there it is. That can only mean one thing. Congratulations, mom and dad, it's a boy."

JC's broke out into a face splitting grin. Tears slipped down his face. "Did you hear that, Cricket, it's a boy."

"Our little Grayson-Claybourne hybrid. God help this poor boy. Both his pawpaws were wild." Maddie laughed through her happy tears.

"Vince even had Deacon beat. Let's hope he takes after his Pawpaw Claybourne." JC laughed and wiped his.

"He is gonna be over the moon. I hoped it was a boy for him. Not because he doesn't have sons, but because I wanted to give him his first grandson for reasons that we have discussed." Maddie gave him a knowing look.

"Of course, that is still the plan I'm with you." JC agreed.

"That sounds like a plan to me, babe." Maddie grinned.

"I'm gonna print out some pictures for you and I'll have them waiting for when they leave." Dr. Baker told them.

"Thank you so much." JC wrapped her in a huge hug.

Dr. Baker laughed enthusiastically. "You're quite welcome."

* * *

"What in the world in goin' on in here." June walked into her kitchen to find Deacon and Paul with a meat grinder.

"We are butcherin' deer meat." Paul told her like she should have thought of that.

"We are runnin' it through the meat grinder. I promised Pistol I'd make her somethin' to eat outta it. I'm thinkin' bacon wrapped deer roast or tenderloin. I can even get Ray to eat that." Deacon chimed in.

"You're not puttin' steak and tenderloin through that grinder are you?" June couldn't leave them alone unsupervised without them messing up.

"Of course not, momma." Deacon rolled his eyes.

June smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Deacon John."

"There's no way you saw that." Deacon snorted.

"I know you well." June chuckled.

"You shouldn't be that mean to me. Pistol's one wish was to give her mawmaw and pawpaw some deer meat." Deacon warned her.

"My Pistol will do whatever she wants when it comes to that." June pointed a threatening finger in his direction.

"June, don't abuse our boy, that my job." Paul made a joke.

"Deacon Paul, that's not funny." June glared at him.

"See what kinda trouble you get us into, old man?" Deacon laughed.

"It's a damn good thing that ya'll didn't get along when he was growin' up or I woulda had to bail ya'll outta jail." June shook her head.

"We've both been there and done that." Paul snorted.

"That's not somethin' to be proud of." Deacon pointed out to him.

"It's a tradition with the Claybourne men. We've all been in a cell at one point or another. Even my sainted father and grandfather spent time in the Natchez jail." Paul reminded him.

"And this is why I ain't allowed to bring my children to visit." Deacon joked.

"You ain't allowed to bring your children on visits over here with him 'cause they are Claybourne's just like their daddy and granddaddy. Ray knows that she has to keep an eye on ya'll and her babies. Jayme and Jack Henry would probably be safe, but Deac and Charlie are Claybourne's for sure." June corrected them.

"Oh, knock it off, momma." Deacon laughed.

"I wish I could. Claybourne men are a pain in my ass." June kissed the top of his head.

"Can't be helped." Paul joked.

"Ya'll could exercise a little self-control you just don't wanna." June winked at him.

* * *

"Jimmy, make sure that you get this on video." Maddie told her husband.

"I've got it under control, Cricket, I'm recordin' right now." JC assured her.

"Ya'll good? You finally gonna let me open this mystery box now? Ya'll do know that when you have a baby people are supposed to give you presents not the other way around, right?" Deacon asked. They were in the living room of his house. Rayna was seated on the couch next to him. They had come to see them first after finding out the baby's sex.

"Open it, dad." Maddie smiled at him.

"I shoulda known that this was gonna be dramatic with Maddie behind it." Rayna joked. She squeezed her husband's knee.

"Whatever, mom," Maddie rolled her eyes.

Deacon tore the wrapping paper off the box and opened it to reveal a new pair of boots. Laying on top was a card. "What's this?"

"Read it out loud, dad." JC instructed him.

Deacon cleared his throat. "Pawpaw, for just a little while I will be small and confused. I won't always know what to say or even what to do. You raised up my momma and taught her right from wrong, 'cause you always knew someday I would come along. Now, my daddy needs you to show him what to do to. I will always be watchin' you and take some of my cues from. So, help turn me into a good man and help me fill these boots. Love, your future grandson." He had tears rolling down his face.

"It's a boy, Ray." He leaned over and kissed his wife.

"Oh, honey, you're so damn cute. I don't know how I got lucky enough to have grandchildren with you." Rayna wiped away his tears and then she wiped her own.

"This is ridiculous that you make fun of me all the time." Deacon laughed a little.

"Sugar, I only make fun of you 'cause I love ya so." Rayna ran her hands through his hair.

"Didn't he really cry like a baby when he found out that Charlie was a girl?" JC inquired.

"We both did." Rayna corrected her.

"Come here and let me say hello to my grandson. Your Pa is gonna be so excited." Deacon held his arms open to his daughter.

Maddie stepped into his embrace. She rubbed her belly. "Peanut, your pawpaw wants to say hi to you."

Deacon kissed her belly. "Hey there, little man, I'm your pawpaw. You're gonna love me. Let's just say you stand less of a chance of hearin' the word no from me than you do from anyone. We are gonna be big buddies. Your uncles are gonna love ya and your aunts are gonna be crazy 'bout ya. Especially, your Aunt Charlie. I get the feelin' that you're gonna be taggin' along after her a lot."

"Does he have a name?" Rayna asked.

"He does," Maddie grinned.

"Are you gonna let me tell 'em?" JC asked.

"You may tell them what we agreed on." Maddie gave him a look.

JC nodded his head in understanding. "His name is Tennessee. We know that it's a little corny, but it's where we met and it's a pretty cool name."

"I love that." Deacon smiled. "Hey, Tennessee,"

"He would. I really love it too, though." Rayna replied.

"It was the one name we could both agree on." Maddie told her.

"She shot down all of my crazy ideas." JC shrugged.

"I had to. You wanted to name our son after characters in old westerns." Maddie scowled at him.

"I know that feeling." Rayna shot a look at Deacon.

"You two still haven't decided on a name for her?" JC asked.

"Nope, she's gonna be three before she has a name." Rayna sighed.

"I'm just sayin' that you should consider us namin' her Jennings. It would be awesome." Deacon reasoned with her.

"Mom, I hate to agree with the crazy man, but that is an awesome name." Maddie took Deacon's side.

"Don't you side with him." Rayna mock glared at her.

Deacon moved Maddie in front of her mother. "Ray, say hi to your grandson."

"Hey, Mister, I'm your mawmaw. You think 'bout callin' me anythin' other than that and we are gonna have words. After we have words you can go to your pawpaw and he will make it all better. He always does. That's his job. He makes me be the mean one. I already know that you're gonna like him better and between you and me that's ok. He's pretty loveable. I love you so much, baby boy." Rayna spoke to him. She put her hand on her daughter's stomach.

Deacon placed his hand on top of hers. "Pawpaw loves you too."

Maddie smiled down at her parents. "This little boy is so lucky to have both of you."

"You know that we will help ya'll out any way that we can." Rayna reassured her.

"Mom, I know that we will have all the help we need and then some from you and dad. I'm not worried about that at all." Maddie took her hand and squeezed it.

"Maddie, I ain't tryin' to rush you or anythin', but I need to get home and pack." JC tried to hurry her up.

"That's right you have to go get ready for your annual hunting widows weekend before the CMAs." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Dad, we bringin' the boys this year?" JC asked.

"I don't think they are quite ready yet. Next year for sure." Deacon replied.

"I think they can handle it." JC argued with him.

"So do I, but their momma says no." Deacon rolled his eyes.

"Deacon, thin ice." Rayna warned him.

"I always am." Deacon grinned at her.

"He's hopeless. Maddie, take your delinquent home before I have to do bodily harm to mine." Rayna shook her head.

"Whatever, you need, mom." Maddie agreed with her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait. I've had a lot going on lately, but I haven't given up on this story. I hope to get back in groove now that things have settled down some. Until next time please review.


	93. Chapter 93

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 93

"Mom, the state of your feet is ridiculous, you know that?" Daphne sat in the floor painting her mother's toenails.

"You need to be nice to me thanks to your baby sister, I can't exactly see my feet right now." Rayna pointed out to her.

"Please don't get her to crying. If she starts Aunt Tandy will start and then that'll make me cry." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"You three with all your hormones are enough to make everyone else crazy." Juliette scoffed.

"You keep up with me too much and next time Avery says he doesn't want to go with the rest of the guys I won't have Deacon talk him into it." Rayna pointed a finger at her.

"I think Joel is glad that he had a bye week this week so he could go with them." Daphne added.

"I think Buck just goes along to make sure that they don't make any messes he'll have to clean up." Tandy observed.

"With Gunnar, Will, and Avery involved I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if some kind of mess was made." Scarlett laughed softly.

"I'm glad that Rhett's gone. Maybe he will get his damn head on straight. I'm worried about him." Sadie threw out there.

"His big brother will sort him out if he seems to be on a downward spiral." June reassured her.

"Here's a thought we got rid of them for a little while let's not talk about them." Juliette suggested.

"I'm ok with that. I'm glad for Jimmy to be gone. I love him so much, but he's making me crazy. He acts like I'm an invalid. I'm not the first woman in the history of the world to get pregnant." Maddie sighed.

"This is his first baby and it's a boy. He really feels like a man right now and that's gonna make him extra protective of you. His testosterone is flowin' these days. Let him do what he needs to do feel like he's doin' his part. If your daddy coulda put me in shrink wrap when I was pregnant with the boys he would have. I'd been through it before, but he hadn't and nothing I could say to him would calm him down." Rayna told her.

"I remember. I also remember you used to feed the twins the most ungodly combinations of food when you were pregnant with them. One of your favorites was ice cream and cookie dough. Dad would tell us make sure you get her to eat some real food before she feeds your brothers a bunch of crap." Daphne laughed.

"That might explain why Jayme's teeth are so bad now." Tandy observed.

"Jayme's teeth are so bad because he had reflux. I'm pretty sure that kid projectile spit up on everyone. Maddie wouldn't touch him because he was so bad." Rayna corrected her.

"Jimmy still has a hat that's stained from Jayme spitting up on him. You can't blame me for not wanting to feed him or touch him right after he ate. I also didn't change his diaper because he peed on everyone every chance he got. It's strange to say that now, because I'm closer to him and Daphne is closer to Deac. But when they were babies I would much rather deal with Deac." Maddie retorted.

"That's because you and Deac are too damn much alike. That's also why Charlie is closer to me too. You three are just like dad." Daphne pointed out.

"Daphne, you're like Deacon in a lot of ways too." Rayna arched an eyebrow.

"Just in none of the pesky genetic ways that make it impossible for me to get along with the rest of my siblings." Daphne smirked.

"You're not the golden child. You're not Jack Henry." Maddie teased her.

"He's not gonna be the golden child for much longer either. Baby girl will be." Daphne joked.

"That's enough outta both of you." Rayna called them down.

"Have you two decided on a name for that little girl yet?" Scarlett asked.

"We are close I think. There are a few names we really like. We are trying to narrow it down. I like Magnolia and we could call her Maggie for short. He likes Jennings and then we both like Carter. In other words she may come into this world without a name." Rayna laughed.

"You didn't decide the boys' names until they were born though." Daphne observed.

"True. We basically just named the boys after each other. Charlie and Jack, we did pick out their names ahead of time. We named Charlie after her mawmaws and Jack is named after his Uncle Vince and our favorite Johnny and June song." Rayna agreed with that.

"Tandy, have you and Bucky decided on a name yet?" June asked.

"No, we haven't. We have two that we really like and we said that we'd decide when we look at her for the first time." Tandy shrugged.

"Deacon John came pretty close to bein' named Samuel or Deacon Paul like his daddy and Big Paw. Then when we saw him for the first time and we knew what his name should be." June reassured her.

"Deacon and I have had easier times writin' hit songs than we are havin' tryin' to name this child." Rayna groaned.

"What you two do when you're writing songs is why you're having trouble coming up with names for your kids." Tandy scoffed.

"You get mean when you're hormonal, you know that?" Rayna rolled her eyes at her sister.

"JC and I didn't have a problem coming up with a name." Maddie supplied.

"You two are namin' my grandson Tennessee." Rayna pointed out to her.

"You like the name and you know it. At first, he wanted to name his Dallas or Memphis. I had to talk him out of those names." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I do like the name. I'm just a little surprised that you liked it. It sounds like somethin' that your daddy would come up with." Rayna laughed and shook her head.

"What kinda middle name are you gonna use to go with that?" Scarlett asked.

Maddie looked around the room. "No one can tell dad what I'm about to say."

"No one is gonna tell your dad anything. We just tell him what he needs to know." Tandy joked.

Maddie laughed and rubbed her belly. "This little guy's name is Deacon Tennessee Grayson."

"Your daddy is gonna bawl like a baby when he finds out." Rayna informed her.

"I know he will, but I think that he deserves it. This is his first grandchild." Maddie explained to her.

"You need to stop beatin' yourself for things you said over a decade ago when you were a stupid kid." Rayna told her.

"Maybe one day I will." Maddie shrugged.

"You're just like him in some ways." June observed.

"How's that, mawmaw?" Maddie asked.

"He beats himself up for a long time over stuff too." June pointed out to her.

"I'm not beating myself up. I'm just trying to make things right." Maddie explained.

"Maddie, you have no idea how much this is gonna mean to your father." Rayna smiled at her.

"I think I do." Maddie smiled back.

Jack walked in the room and crawled into Rayna's lap.

"Well, hi, little man," Rayna kissed his head.

"Hi, momma," Jack yawned. His kissed her belly. "Hi, baby sister."

Rayna ran her fingers through his hair. "You are so sweet. Your baby sister is gonna love you."

"You two are being clingier than usual. Are you missing your big boys?" Tandy asked.

"I didn't want them to go this year, but their daddy talked me into it. They aren't little boys anymore now. They are gonna come back actin' like little men. Charlie is just a little pissed, but Deacon said he'd deal with it when he gets home." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"That's why Casey is out in the woods with my sister right now?" Maddie questioned.

"Yeah, it was meant to appease her. I'm not really sure it was the best idea I've ever had, but you know how it goes." Rayna shrugged.

"I wouldn't trust Casey with Jimmy's dog and she's my best friend." Maddie laughed.

"I confiscated her flask before I sent them off together. I'm not crazy." Rayna laughed with her.

"Good thing you did. There were a few nights that I had to half carry her back to the tour bus." Daphne snorted.

"It's because Cody was out on the road with you guys. He is like being chained to responsibility for her. She gave up her childhood to raise him. She needs a therapist, but instead she drinks like a fish." Maddie laughed and shook her head.

Casey walked in the side door with Charlie at that moment. "Ok, Charlie, we unloaded our guns now we need to put them away."

"I know what to do, Casey." Charlie rolled her eyes.

"I already have one mouthy friend who looks a little bit like you. I don't need another one." Casey laughed.

"Are you sayin' I'm like Maddie?" Charlie's eyes got big.

"Exactly," Casey winked at her.

"You two have any luck?" Rayna asked them.

"Had we been squirrel huntin' we would have made a killin'." Charlie replied frankly.

"You have a serious squirrel problem." Casey added.

"Only because my father-in-law was put on a strict diet. Or he pretends to be on one. He hasn't killed any raccoons or possums lately." Rayna laughed.

"That heathen better not be eatin' that junk again. That man is nasty." June cringed.

"Wow, and I thought I came from some white trash roots." Juliette marveled.

"There's a very good chance that Paul could be the last mountain man." June shook her head.

* * *

Deacon grunted as he brought his ax down on a log and split it in half. "Son of a bitch that hurt. My damn chest is still healin'."

"Here, dad, let me finish that up." JC took the ax from him and started splitting wood.

"Come here you little monkeys. Put some more of these logs on the fire." Deacon waved Deac and Jayme over. "Thanks, Jimmy, I'm not as healed as I'd like to think."

"No, problem," JC replied.

"Y'all come here and I'll show you where to put those logs." Paul stood by the fire warming his hands.

"They don't need no help. They are both little firebugs from what I understand." Will snorted.

"They come by it natural. So do you. No one I know could build a roarin' fire like Deacon Claybourne and Vince Grayson." Max observed. He threw back the rest of the moonshine that was in a mason jar.

"They ain't even the ones I have to hide all the fire makin' materials from. That would be there sister." Deacon eased himself into a chair.

"Ain't our fault that she saw a video on YouTube 'bout how to make a flamethrower and wanted to try it out." Jayme supplied.

"Jayme, shh!" Deac elbowed his brother.

"What'd I do?" Jayme looked at him cluelessly.

"You ain't supposed to tell no one that." Deac sighed.

"What happens at deer camp stays at deer camp." Gunnar told them.

"They know they ain't gonna get in trouble with me anyway. It's their momma that would have a fit if she found out. And then it would be me she threw the fit with. As far as she's concerned I'm what's wrong with all our children." Deacon laughed.

"Well, you know that has to be the case. Your wife is perfect." Paul teased him.

"Joel, my advice to you is run now. If you get in any deeper with Daphne this is what you have to look forward to." JC advised him.

"That was a big case of open mouth insert foot if ever I heard one." Will smirked.

"Y'all don't need to have one of your little lovers' spats right now." Rhett laughed and shook his head at them. He took a long pull off his flask.

"Rhett, has anyone ever told you that you're kinda mean when you're drinking?" Avery asked him.

"I'm not mean, I'm just honest." Rhett shrugged.

"Will, where's your husband to deal with his friend?" Paul wondered.

"He's on a road trip with the team right now or he would be here. We could always call him up and get him to talk some sense into this knuckle head." Will replied helpfully.

"Wow, y'all really get off topic don't ya?" Joel looked between all of them.

"Joel, if you're gonna hang out with us it's somethin' you gonna have to get used to." JC clapped him on the back.

"If it'd make Daphne happy I'd spend more time with y'all." Joel shrugged his shoulders.

"DJ, I think we need to keep this one around he knows how to treat our girl." Paul observed.

"You wanna hold a shotgun to his back and force him to marry her?" Deacon suggested.

"Deacon, don't give the crazy old man any ideas. In case you haven't forgotten he was in prison." Gunnar pointed out.

"Jesus, Gunnar, I don't think you're ever not make things awkward." Avery shook his head at him.

"What'd I do now?" Gunnar scoffed.

"You know what you did." Will rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm startin' to see why everyone picks on him." Paul bit back a laugh.

"Cause he's an easy target and messin' with him is too good to pass up." Rhett supplied helpfully. He took another pull off his flask.

Paul gave Deacon a look.

"Hey, Rhett, come help me get somethin' outta the truck." Deacon threw his arm around his little brother's shoulders and didn't give him a choice in the matter.

"Well, ok," Rhett followed him to the truck. "What do you need?"

"I wanna talk to you." Deacon told him.

"'Bout what?" Rhett asked.

"'Bout the drinkin' and the pills. You have got to be careful. You come from a long line of addicts." Deacon replied.

"I'm fine, Deacon. I appreciate the concern, but I'm ok. I'm just still in a lot of pain." Rhett assured him.

"That's how it started with me too. I was already a drunk and then I was in that accident with Vinny. I said I only wanted to take the pills because of the pain, but it was because they made me numb. They made me forget that I'd played a hand in my best friend dyin'. That man was my brother just as much as you are. His dyin' hit me hard. I went on a downward spiral so bad that Rayna finally had all she could take of me. Pills like the ones you're on now are the reason that I didn't get to be Maddie's daddy. I don't wanna see you lose your family over substance abuse issues. You're kiddin' yourself if you think Sadie won't leave your ass if it comes down to protectin' her babies from you. A mother's love is more powerful than anythin' on this planet. You know that Ray loves the hell outta me, but when that stick turned blue she put Maddie's well bein' over that." Deacon advised him.

"Like I said, I appreciate the concern, but I'm not you. You need to stop worryin' 'bout me so damn much." Rhett took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll let it go for now, but if I think I need to have another talk with you I will and I mean it. I ain't playin' 'round here, Rhett. You're an athlete you know better than anyone that you have to be careful with what you put in your body. Lamar won't play with your ass either. He will throw you into rehab or make you quit the team." Deacon bluffed a little bit. He knew that his father-in-law protected his bottom line above all else.

"I heard ya loud and clear, big brother. If I thought I needed a lecture I'd do somethin' to actually deserve it." Rhett stalked away from him.

Deacon put his hands over his face and sighed deeply.

* * *

Rayna stood in front of the bedroom mirror looking at her belly and stroking it lovingly. "Hi, baby girl, how are you doin'? Momma is gettin' ready to put on a dress that isn't gonna be very comfortable for you, but if you behave I promise that I will come home and put on daddy's t-shirt and sweatpants."

Deacon walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Don't worry so much. She's gonna love bein' dressed up just as much as you and two of her three sisters do." He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Look at you. It's good to have my husband back and not that mountain man that came back from deer camp." She smiled at him in the mirror.

"I better get ready while you're outta the bathroom. Lord knows how long you take once you get in there." He teased her.

"Just remember you're the one who signed up for this." She winked at him.

"I did it gladly and with everythin' that I own at stake." He dropped a kiss on her cheek and went to put his suit on.

"One of these days you and I are gonna have a talk about men, baby girl, when we do I'm gonna tell ya to go for one who is as lovin' as your daddy." Rayna rubbed her belly.

"Don't put things like men in that baby girl's head." Deacon called from the bathroom.

"Deacon, I know you hate to acknowledge this, but you can't keep boys away from your daughters." She shook her head at him.

"I can damn well try my best." He pulled his suit jacket on.

"You'll try your best and fail every time." She stepped into a silver dress that was off her shoulder. "Come zip me up, handsome." She smiled.

"Gladly," Deacon zipped her dress up and kissed her shoulder.

"You're bein' way too sweet to me right now. That makes me think that you're tryin' to get into my panties after you left me alone with your very upset daughter all weekend." Rayna bit her lip sexily.

"I'm sorry, babe, I promised you that I'd make it up to her and I will. The only way I'm gonna be able to make it up to you is if you let me into your panties later." Deacon nibbled on the junction of her neck and shoulder blade.

Rayna let out an involuntary moan. "You're good. You know exactly what buttons to push, baby."

"I should hope so." Deacon smirked.

Rayna looked over her shoulder at him. "Are you ready to go?" She took a deep breath to collect herself.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Don't you still have to do your makeup?" He looked confused.

"I do, that's why I need you to get out of here. If you don't go right now we're gonna be real late." She drug out her words slowly. Damn her pregnancy hormones to hell she wanted him and she wanted him badly.

He ran his hands up the back of her thighs and hitched the skirt of her dress up. "Bend over, I think we can still do this quick and without messin' up your hair."

She bent over and put her hands on her vanity. She let out a loud moan when she felt him enter her quickly and without warning.

He held on to her hips and pounded into her from behind. He still felt like a nineteen-year-old kid when he was with her.

Rayna bit her knuckle to keep from crying out. The last thing she wanted to do was alert their children to what was going on in their bedroom.

Deacon grunted as he moved in and out of his wife. He brought one of his hands down to rub her clit.

"Careful, baby, don't make me scream." Rayna panted.

"I will make you scream later and you can count on that." Deacon promised her. He too was panting. He changed the angle of his penetration to hit the spot he she loved on every stroke.

"Just like that, babe. I only need a little more." Rayna moved her hips back against his.

Deacon kept going. "It ain't gonna take much more for me either, baby." He breathed hard in and out of his nose.

Rayna bit down on her lip to stifle her moan as she came.

Deacon followed her over the edge a second later. He pulled out of her and tucked his member back in his pants.

Rayna straightened up her clothes and grabbed a fresh pair of panties out of her drawer. She gave her husband a lingering kiss. "You still make me feel like I'm sixteen and I love you for it."

"Baby, we still got it." Deacon grinned against her lips.

"Go on downstairs and I will meet you there after I'm done." Rayna pecked his lips again.

"Ok, count my fingers." Paul held up his fingers to help Jayme with his math homework.

"What is goin' on here?" Deacon asked when he walked into the living room.

"Your daddy is helpin' his grandson with his homework. Things I never thought I would see." June explained to him.

"You should listen to your Pa, Jayme. All he's ever done is tinker 'round with cars. He's very good at math." Deacon advised him.

"I hate math." Jayme groaned.

"You take after your momma that way." Deacon ruffled his hair.

"Everyone else finished with their homework already?" Deacon asked.

"Yes, they are. I didn't have to get on those other two to do their homework." June answered him.

"That's usually the case." Deacon nodded in agreement.

"Are we lettin' them stay up to watch the whole show tonight?" Paul asked him.

"Let 'em stay up. We always do. I will carry them to bed when we get home." Deacon replied.

"Ok, whatever you say, DJ." Paul threw a salute at him.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm so sorry for the long wait. I've had a lot going on. My dad has been in and out of the hospital, but thankfully he is on the mend now. I'm gonna try to get back to pumping out chapters for you. God knows that we all need this with the state of our beloved show these days. Until next time please review.


	94. Chapter 94

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Songlist: The songs used in this chapter are Most People Are Good by Luke Bryan and Loves You Like I do by Josh Kelley.

* * *

Chapter 94

"Hey, y'all, you're the first ones that showed up tonight. I shoulda known better than to think 'bout countin' on any of the others." Rayna greeted Sadie and Rhett on the red carpet.

"No one else owns a watch." Sadie hugged her.

"Come here, Little Sister," Deacon held his arms open to her.

"Hey, Big Brother," Sadie hugged him and lightly kissed his cheek.

"Gorgeous, you are absolutely glowin'. Bein' pregnant looks good on you. It always has." Rhett poured on the charm. He kissed Rayna's cheek.

"Flattery will get you everywhere these days." Rayna hugged him and pulled away quickly.

"What's wrong?" Rhett knitted his brow together.

"Darlin', I love you and you know that I do, but your aftershave is gonna make me puke. I don't wanna do that here." Rayna patted his cheek lightly.

"Deacon! Rhett! Over here!" A photographer called out to them.

Deacon put his arm around his brother and smiled for a picture.

"Rhett, how does it feel to be in the part of town that your brother rules?" A reported asked.

Rhett laughed and smiled so that his pearly white teeth showed. "Well, I'm pretty sure this is the Bridgestone. My big brother is good, but this is more my best friend's territory. Mack McCoy owns the Bridgestone."

"We don't have any of that brotherly rivalry goin' on when it comes to our careers. We only do that in our personal lives. We love to see each other be successful. That bein' said this little punk knows that this is my city and I just let him live in it." Deacon put Rhett into a playful headlock.

Rhett slipped the hold easily and grinned. "Big brothers," he rolled his eyes. "What can you do with 'em?"

"We better get goin' 'fore our wives come to collect us." Deacon put his hand on Rhett's shoulder and led him back to their wives.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Rhett whispered his apology for being a jerk when his brother was just trying to look out for him.

"It's ok," Deacon reassured him.

"You two are a couple of clowns." Rayna observed with a smile.

"We were just givin' the people what they wanted, baby." Deacon placed a kiss on her shoulder, so he didn't mess up her makeup. He put his hand on her belly lovingly.

"Your little girl isn't happy 'bout this dress I have on at all. I think she may take after her daddy." Rayna informed him.

"Charlie and Deac took after me that way. I don't know if your poor little heart could handle another little girl like me." Deacon rubbed her belly.

"Let's get in there." Rayna laughed.

* * *

" _I believe kids oughta stay kids as long as they can. Turn off the screen, go climb a tree, get dirt on their hands. I believe we gotta forgive and make amends 'cause nobody gets a second chance to make new old friends. I believe in working hard for what you've got even if it don't add up to a hell of a lot."_ Will got to open the show with a new song of his.

" _I believe most people are good and most momma's oughta qualify for sainthood. I believe most Friday nights look better underneath neon stadium lights. I believe you love who love ain't nothin' you should ever be ashamed of. I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks. I believe most people are good."_ This was the song he'd written with Kevin the afternoon he'd come over.

" _I believe them streets of gold are worth the work, but I'd still wanna go even if they were paved in dirt. I believe that youth is spent well on the young 'cause wisdom in your teens would be a lot less fun. I believe if you just go by the nightly news your faith in all mankind would be the first thing you lose."_

" _I believe most people are good and most momma's oughta qualify for sainthood. I believe most Friday nights look better underneath neon stadium lights. I believe you love who love ain't nothin' you should ever be ashamed of. I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks. I believe most people are good."_

" _I believe that days go slow and years go fast and every breath's a gift the first one to the last. I believe most people are good and most momma's oughta qualify for sainthood. I believe most Friday nights look better under neon stadium lights. I believe you love who you love ain't nothin' you should ever be ashamed of. I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks. I believe most people are good. I believe most people are good. I believe most people are good."_ Will finished strumming his guitar softly to the applause of the crowd.

"Ladies, and Gentlemen, let's give it up for Mr. Will Lexington." Carrie said when she and Brad stepped out on stage after his number.

"I'll tell you what in the last ten years or so we've seen a lot of Highway Sixty-five artists on this stage. I think it's safe to say that a successful music label isn't the only thing that Deacon Claybourne and Rayna Jaymes have made together." Brad alluded to the fact that Rayna was pregnant again. "Deacon, how many does this make?"

Deacon held up his fingers to indicate seven.

"Lucky number seven. That's one more the number of nominations that Rayna had the year they got married." Brad observed.

"I swear he loves messin' with me." Deacon leaned over and whispered to Rayna.

"Right here in the front row you make an easy target, babe." Rayna laughed softly.

"Mhmm," Deacon chuckled.

* * *

Deacon took the stage a little while later to do a number. Instead of his usual guitar he was at the piano for a change. _"They might know your name and they might know your face, but I dare say they don't know your heart. They've only seen you all put together they ain't never seen you fall apart. They don't know who you are."_ He sang directly to Rayna even though there were thousands of other people present.

He'd never written truer words about her. Everyone knew that stage face that she put on, but he was the only person who got to know the real Rayna Jaymes. She was only herself when she was with him. Not even Luke or Teddy had gotten that part of her. It had always been reserved for him.

" _But I get to watch you kissin' the curls on the top of our baby girl's head. And I get to hold you while we fall asleep in the middle of our king size bed. Everyone loves you, but nobody loves you like me. Yeah, everyone loves you, but nobody loves you like me. Nobody loves you like me."_

Rayna put her hand up to her mouth to fight off the emotions she was feeling.

" _To the crowd in the room you're the life of the party. To me you're my reason to live. I run outta steam where you're just gettin' started. It's hard not to love your best friend. Everyone loves you, but nobody loves you like me. 'Cause I get to watch you run through the rain at the parkin' lot down at the mall. I can't count the times that you've kissed away pain and you've pick me back up when I fall. Everyone loves you, but nobody loves you like me. Yeah, everyone loves you, nobody loves you like me. Nobody loves you like me."_ He put every ounce of feelings he had for her into this song.

The CMA awards were always a little bitter sweet for them, because this was the moment where they had almost lost it all. Sure they had recovered, but even time couldn't erase the pain of what had come between them.

" _I watch the shade of your beautiful eyes change with the rise of the sun. I'm the only one, I'm the only one. Yeah I'm the only one. I got to watch you light up the room down the aisle with that weddin' dress on. I got to dance with the lady that everyone wishes that they could take home. Everyone loves you, but nobody loves you like me. yeah, everyone loves, but nobody loves like me. nobody loves you like me. Everyone loves you, but nobody loves you like me."_ He sang the last words of the song with everything that he had in him. He'd been saving that song for a special occasion and this just fit the bill. He'd gotten lucky and been able to sneak this song in on their duet album.

Rayna was still wiping away tears when he reclaimed his seat beside her. "Damn it, babe."

"I take it that you liked it." Deacon grinned broadly.

"I loved it." Rayna leaned over and kissed him deeply. For once she didn't give a damn about her lipstick.

"I'm glad, it's on the duet album. You just didn't check my song list." Deacon wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Do you mind bein' here even though neither of us is nominated this year?" Rayna leaned against him.

"I don't mind bein' here at all. Any time I get to spend with you is a good time." Deacon replied.

"I have the most amazing husband in the world." Rayna whispered to him.

"And I have the most amazing wife." Deacon nuzzled her neck with his lips.

* * *

"Maddie, are you ok?" JC whispered to Maddie. He was watching her squirm around her seat.

"I'm fine, your stubborn ass son just won't let me get comfortable." Maddie bit her lip in discomfort.

JC put his hand on her back and pressed down on one of her pressure points. "Better?"

"Much better, babe." Maddie breathed a sigh of relief.

JC put his other hand on her stomach. "Hayseed, you be good for your momma."

"He's laying on a nerve or something. I have no clue." Maddie grumbled.

"You're still not all that comfortable are you?" JC asked.

"It's better, but I still hurt." Maddie admitted.

"Lean over and tell Joel to give me his big ass hand." JC replied.

"Joel, Jimmy needs your hand." Maddie whispered to her sister's boyfriend.

"I won't ask." Joel gave JC his hand.

JC moved Joel's hand to the center of Maddie's back. "Press down as hard as you can with your fingertips. The baby is on her nerve. If we both do this maybe she won't be in pain."

Joel did as he was instructed. "Ok,"

"Cricket, how's that?" JC asked.

"Neither of you move." Maddie told them.

Daphne looked at her boyfriend out the side of her eye. "Joel, are you feeling my sister up?"

"No, I'm hittin' her pressure point." Joel corrected her.

"Oh, our nephew is misbehaving." Daphne laughed.

"You said our." Joel grinned from ear to ear.

"I plan on keeping you around. I hope that's ok." Daphne took his free hand and squeezed it.

"I ain't goin' anywhere 'til you say the word. And even then I ain't gonna go without a fight." Joel kissed her.

"You have to be a really great man to do that for my sister just because she's in pain." Daphne whispered against his lips.

"Your siblings are everythin' to you. That means I'd do anythin' for 'em to." Joel rubbed his nose against hers.

"If we ever have a daughter I'm gonna tell her to find a man just like her daddy." Daphne stared deep into his eyes.

Joel just smiled wider. "I'd love for you to have my babies."

"I'd love to have your babies." Daphne squeezed his hand again.

"Daphne, just say no. I wish I would have." Maddie grumbled.

"She doesn't really mean that." JC supplied.

"If there's one thing I know it's you keep your mouth shut where a pregnant woman is concerned. You don't go against those kinda hormones. What are you crazy?" Joel shook his head at him.

"Will y'all stop runnin' your mouths like a bunch of little old maids?" Casey whispered harshly.

"Bite me, Casey," Maddie turned to glare at her friend playfully.

"You know better than to tempt me." Casey smirked.

"Casey, don't you two get into a lover's spat in public. Rayna wouldn't be pleased with that at all." Will told her.

"Do I talk to your best friend like that?" Mack asked him.

"Here we go." Gunnar commented.

"All of you hush. I shouldn't have to be the only adult sittin' over here right now. Will, leave the three amigos alone. Gunnar, stay outta it. Mack, Casey, Maddie, behave yourselves." Scarlett laid down the law.

"You were way more fun before you were a mom." Daphne laughed at her cousin.

"And you used to be sweet and innocent. Times change and people change." Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"You know it's bad when I'm the good one, right?" Juliette chimed in.

"I should have known that she couldn't just let things be." Avery groaned.

"Darlin', you know if there's trouble I'm gonna be right in the middle of it." Juliette smiled at him.

"I need a drink when we get a break. Who is with me?" Avery just gave up. He knew that it was better that way. He also knew that he didn't have to ask that question.

* * *

"Well, hey there, Freakin' Deacon, you're the last person I expected to see at the bar." Luke sat down next to Deacon.

"I'm just waitin' on my bride to use the bathroom yet again. Our baby girl decided that tonight would be a good night to lay on her momma's bladder. She's sick to her stomach and she needs a ginger ale." Deacon replied.

"Steph was only that sick with Sage. With both the boys she wasn't sick at all." Luke observed.

"I remember that Ray was horribly sick with Daphne. We were on the road then. She was a little sick with Charlie, but that was in the mornings. Then again my pistol ain't the typical girl. Baby girl is givin' her the nausea and all the textbook stuff." Deacon sipped his tea.

"I have to say that it should be illegal to be a happy as you two are." Luke retorted.

"I used to think that this kinda happiness wasn't for me, but it suits me." Deacon shrugged.

"Her and I were a mistake. She could see it even when I couldn't. We would have been miserable together. I'm glad y'all are so happy. I found love with the woman I was always meant to be with." Luke told him after he'd ordered a drink.

"She didn't mean to hurt you, Wheels Up. Truth be told if you hadn't been hurt she woulda walked away. We drug you into the middle of our mess and we shouldn't have. Ray and I were both scared. We'd hurt each other a lot and it was easier to pretend to move on than it was to fix the messes we'd made." Deacon came as close as he ever would to apologizing.

"It occurs to me that no matter what the other guy says you shouldn't go after another man's girl. Even when he says it's ok. Especially, when that man is supposed to be your friend." Luke apologized in his own way too.

"Yeah, you can't always take a man at face value when it comes to his girl." Deacon nodded his head.

"Well, here's to things turnin' out the way that they should." Luke raised his glass.

Deacon clicked his glass with Luke's. "I'll drink to that. That was if I still drank. Even if I did still drink, I don't think I would drink with you. You got me in a lotta trouble in the old days."

"Don't just blame me. I think Vince was the bad influence." Luke laughed from deep in his chest.

"Vince was a pain in the ass and a drunk. He led everyone into temptation, because he knew the way very well." Deacon laughed with him.

"How does it feel knowin' your future grandchild is gonna have his DNA?" Luke asked.

"I think it's the best damn thing I've heard in awhile. Vince wasn't just my best friend he was my brother. When I lost him I really went down a dark path. I can't say that I wasn't happy when Jimmy and Maddie hooked up. It was somethin' that I didn't know I needed." Deacon admitted.

"I miss that crazy son of a bitch too. Admittedly it can't be as badly as you miss him." Luke agreed with that.

"I miss that crazy bastard every day a little more. I didn't realize how much I needed him 'til he wasn't there anymore." Deacon retorted. He took a sip of his drink.

* * *

Thanks to her pregnancy Maddie was using the bathroom more than usual. That's where she was headed while her husband headed to the bar.

"Maddie," Colt stepped right into her path.

"Colt, what are you doing here?" Maddie plastered one her stage smiles on her face.

"My mom and dad had plus one and they decided that it would be good if they brought me along." Colt replied.

"Well, it's good to see you." Maddie fidgeted. It wasn't lost on her that it was this night a year ago that she had ended things with him.

"Marriage and pregnancy look good on you." Colt said lamely.

"I'm really happy, Colt. I hope that you are too. I hope that one day you can find the kind of happiness that I have with Jimmy." Maddie spoke sincerely. She had never wanted to hurt him, but he had pushed things too far too fast. He had that in common with his father. He'd fallen in love with a woman who was clearly still in love with another man.

"I can see that you're happy. I also know that I tried to push you into something that you didn't want with me. Your heart still belonged to Grayson and it always will. I just didn't want to see that." Colt admitted.

"Still, I didn't want to hurt you, Colt. I tried to tell you that I wasn't ready for what you wanted. I didn't know it at the time, but it wasn't that I wasn't ready it was that I didn't want it with you. I think that we both made some mistakes and we tried to make something work that we both knew was doomed." Maddie observed.

"You're right," Colt agreed.

"Colt, as much as this conversation has been good for us to clear the air. I have a baby boy on my bladder and I have got to get to the bathroom. My son is about as impatient as his mawmaw." Maddie laughed.

"Of course, go on and do what you need to do. When can catch up later." Colt stepped out of her way.

Maddie rushed into the bathroom and she made it just in time. When she came out of the stall she found her mother standing at the sink reapplying her lipstick. She went over and washed her hands.

"I see that my grandson is just as much of a pain in the ass as his aunt is." Rayna said without turning to look at her daughter.

"He really is." Maddie opened her purse so she could reapply her makeup.

"What's wrong, baby girl? You seem tense?" Rayna could tell that something wasn't right with her daughter.

"I just ran into Colt and we had a conversation that we probably should have had a year ago." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"I know exactly how you feel. You have to remember that I broke things off with his father to be with your father." Rayna pointed out to her.

"Why do things have to be so complicated when the heart is involved?" Maddie asked.

"Honey, if you figure out the answer to that let me know because as many years as I've been on this earth I still have no clue." Rayna smiled at her softly in the mirror.

"You're supposed to have the answers when I ask you questions like that. You're my momma you have all the answers." Maddie joked.

"Sweetheart if that were the case I'd have more money than I do now. You're fine you didn't do anythin' wrong. The wrong thing would have been to stay with him when your heart beats for Jimmy." Rayna hugged her and kissed her temple.

* * *

Deacon walked down to the kitchen the next morning and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"There he is the man of the hour. Y'all know what to do." Rayna held up a cake with thirteen candles on it. All their kids were gathered in the kitchen along with Scarlett, Gunnar, June, and Paul.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Deacon, happy birthday to you." They all sang to him.

"What in the world is all this?" Deacon looked around with a smile on his face. It wasn't his actual birthday that was in September.

"This is happy thirteen years sober take two." Rayna put down the cake and kissed him.

"You got everyone here for this?" Deacon looked around at his family.

"Of course, I did. This is a big deal for you. You've been sober for twenty-six years minus one slip that was my fault. You have no idea how proud I am of you." Rayna got as close to him as she could with her baby bump in the way.

"We agreed a long time ago that you were done apologizin' for that. I have everythin' thing I could want now and then some. A beautiful pregnant wife, the best kids a man could ask for, two parents who would do anythin' for me, and more extended family than I can count." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"DJ, I'm proud of you, boy." Paul pulled his son into a big bear hug.

"Thanks, daddy, you have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that." Deacon hugged his father back.

"I shoulda said it sooner. You were your momma's boy, but you were always my pride and joy." Paul patted his back.

"Deacon John, you are one of the best men I've ever known and it's my joy to get to say that I'm the one who raised you." June kissed both his cheeks.

"Congratulations, Uncle Deacon," Scarlett hugged him.

Gunnar shook his hand. "You're an inspiration."

"Thanks, Gunnar, I try my best to give y'all an example you can live up to." Deacon pumped his hand.

All the little kids mobbed him in group hug.

"I love y'all so much and I don't ever want you to forget that." Deacon kissed each of their heads.

"Dad, I know that this is a hard time of the year for you, but I want you to know that finding that teat was the best thing to ever happen for me. If not for you I wouldn't have met the love of my life." Maddie buried her face in his neck.

"The best part of my life back then was you." Deacon hugged her and he rubbed her belly. "Pawpaw can't wait to meet you, Ten." He'd already given the baby a nickname.

"Thank you for loving me when my dad couldn't be there, daddy. I love you so much." Daphne hugged him next.

"Squirt, my life wouldn't be complete without you in it. I hope you know that." Deacon kissed her cheek.

"Daddy, how come we celebrate your birthday twice a year?" Charlie asked him.

"Because, Pistol, daddy is an alcoholic. I've been sober your whole life and I won't take a drink even on my death bed. Y'all give me a better high than any drink ever could." Deacon picked her up and hugged her tight.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	95. Chapter 95

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 95

"Babe, I still don't know if this is a good idea." Tandy looked over at her sister. She had one hand on her stomach and the other on the small of her back.

"I don't know why you're so worried. There's no way that this is as bad an idea as you think it is." Rayna rolled her eyes.

They were standing outside of a radio studio watching Deacon. He was filling in for Watty while he was taking care of personal business.

"This is as bad as I think it is. It's Deacon. I never know what's gonna come outta that man's mouth." Tandy worried with her bottom lip.

"Believe it or not he does know how to behave in public." Rayna scoffed.

"I just worry about it." Tandy retorted.

"There's no need to worry about it. You are one of the people who have been saying recently that Deacon can handle these people better than I can. He's in his element and you know it." Rayna corrected her.

"I know that he's in his element. That's why I'm worried about what's going to come outta his mouth. When he gets relaxed he forgets that he's not talking to his buddies and he says things that maybe he shouldn't." Tandy pointed out to her.

"Tandy, I want you to relax. Worryin' like that ain't good for my niece." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"I don't do relaxed well. This kid is gonna come outta the womb with a tums habit and an ulcer." Tandy rubbed her stomach.

"Just be thankful it's not a boy. He'd come out with a briefcase and a headful of silver hair like daddy's." Rayna chuckled.

"Bucky has already resigned himself to the fact that she's gonna come out redheaded. He said that we are just gonna have to use another one of the embryos we have." Tandy replied.

"He's just askin' for trouble. He needs to see how hard it is to handle one before he goes thinkin' 'bout another one." Rayna advised her.

"Oh, don't you worry. I already warned him." Tandy reassured her.

The On Air sign above the studio door went out and Deacon walked out of the room.

"What do y'all think?" He took the headphones out of his ears and put them around his neck.

"I think that you were born for this, babe." Rayna smiled at him encouragingly.

"You're doing great, but I just want you to be mindful of what you say and how you say it." Tandy couldn't just say something nice about him she had to put a qualifier on it.

Deacon smiled and shook his head slightly. "Believe it or not I do know how to behave in public, Tandy. I like to think that I've got a pretty good handle on my mouth by now. You're only at risk of me sayin' somethin' I shouldn't if someone pisses me off."

"You're a pain in my ass, Deacon Claybourne, and you have been since my baby sister came dragging you home." Tandy rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her face.

"It's all part of my charm." Deacon smirked.

"Ok, if you think you've got it from here without any moral support, Tandy and I are gonna get goin'. You know we have some shoppin' to do." Rayna stepped in between her husband and sister before they could get into it.

"Go on. I know that you two are itchin' to go feed your shoppin' habit. I think our daughter, our niece, and our grandson are gonna have more clothes than they need." Deacon stole a quick kiss from her.

Rayna smiled against his lips. "I will see you at home later." She laughed softly.

"I'll see you then. Just remember that tonight is my weekly meetin'." Deacon reminded her.

"I know, I will wait up for you." Rayna kissed him again.

"Well, if that's how you feel, then maybe I will try to make it home early." Deacon rested his forehead against hers. He could tell from the way she'd kissed him what she wanted without her having to say it.

"I'll hold you to that and hopefully I'll hold it against you." Rayna winked at him.

Tandy snorted and rolled her eyes. "Ok, Rayna, let's go. I already know way more about you two than I want to."

"I better go." Rayna laughed.

"I'll see you later." Deacon blew her a kiss.

* * *

Cody played a tune on his guitar. "How'd that sound to you?" He asked the person sitting across from him.

"That's still not quite what I'm looking for." Daphne shook her head. They were in the studio working together.

"We could go into the booth and run through it a couple of times and see if you like anythin' we've come up with so far." Cody suggested.

"If I don't like it out here I'm not gonna like it in the booth." Daphne sighed loudly.

"If this were the old days I would suggest that you and I go blow off some steam and then try again. Since, you seem to be mighty attached to your football player I don't think you'd be receptive to that idea." Cody took a flask out of his pocket and drank from it.

"Cody, don't do this. I couldn't wait for you forever. I thought we could work together like adults." Daphne ran her hands over her face.

"I ain't doin' anythin'. You're the one who went there. I just said that you wouldn't be into my idea of blowin' off steam anymore." Cody shrugged and took another pull off his flask.

"You didn't have to say it. I could tell by the tone of your voice what you meant." Daphne gave him a hard look.

"Daphne, you were the one who wanted something from me that I just couldn't give you. I don't know that I'll ever be able to give that to anyone. I would have damn sure tried, though. You didn't give me the chance to." Cody pointed out to her.

"Because, you are never gonna grow up and act like a man." Daphne called him out.

"So that song was about me." Cody shrugged his shoulders.

"Cody, between you and Jeff men have done a real number on my heart. Then I met Joel and he's everything I need him to be and then some. I finally feel like I can trust a man not to break me and I'm not going to do anything stupid to mess that up. I know that nothing in this life is a sure thing, but you're too big of a gamble. I went through my untamed phase and I'm over it now." Daphne told him.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be what you wanted me to be, but you can't deny that we had a lot of fun together." Cody grinned and put his hand on her knee.

"Yeah, and that's all you are is the good time guy. You're wilder than your sister ever dared to be." Daphne shifted away from him and crossed her legs. She cleared her throat and tried not to have a reaction to him.

"I know what I am. That never mattered to you before." Cody wiggled his eyebrows.

"The only thing you're doing right now is proving my point for me. I was hoping that we were going to be able to work together like adults, but you seem hell bent on making that impossible." Daphne rolled her eyes.

Cody held his hands up in a sign of surrender. "You're right, I'm sorry. We can work together without it bein' weird or me tryin' to come on to you."

"I'll believe you for now, even know I'm not sure how long I can reasonably expect you to behave." Daphne relented.

"I'll tell ya what. I'll try my very best to be good for as long as I can." Cody retorted.

"I think that's as good a deal as I'm gonna get with you." Daphne agreed to those terms.

"Come on, let's go into the booth and play through this song a couple times." Cody grabbed his guitar again.

"Alright, I can live with that." Daphne got to her feet.

"I knew I'd get ya to see things my way." Cody smirked.

"Don't sound like you're so damn pleased with yourself." Daphne snorted in disgust. She knew how he was and that she couldn't trust him to behave. She didn't know why she was just going to drop it when it came to things between them.

* * *

Will pushed two poker chips to the middle of the table.

Casey looked at her cards. "I'll raise you two."

"Damn it, Casey." Rhett bitched and threw his cards down. He drained his glass and then poured more whiskey in it.

JC threw his cards down. "I'm not messin' around with those shitty cards."

"I'm out too." Deacon sipped his tea. The weekly meeting that he let Rayna believe was an AA meeting was actually a poker game. They held the game in the back room of the Mile Marker.

"Casey is raisin' the stakes. It's worth the chips just to see the flop." Paul pushed his chips into the center of the table.

"I have time for one more hand." Luke consulted his watch.

"Jimmy, I think we know whose been gettin' all the good cards now." Deacon inclined his head in Luke's direction.

"I sure as hell haven't gotten any." Gunnar threw his cards down in disgust.

"For all we know Luke and Paul have been cheatin'. I wouldn't put it past either one of them." JC retorted.

"Neither would I." Deacon picked up the deck of cards and dealt the flop.

"I wouldn't put it past Casey to cheat either." Rhett drained his drink just as quickly as he had the other.

"Look who is gettin' in touch with his Claybourne genes." Paul shook his head.

"Paul, I don't have to drive home tonight." Rhett defended himself.

"It would be worse if Lamar had shown up tonight." Gunnar chuckled.

"Please, then it would be war. I don't think he's quite forgiven Paul for stealin' June's heart again." Will observed.

Rhett poured another drink. "Lamar ain't used to not gettin' his way when it comes to what he wants."

"Don't make this family more like a soap opera than it already is." Deacon grunted. "Casey, you raised. The bet is on you."

Casey counted out four chips. "I'll go four."

"Call," Will pushed his chips in.

"I'm in," Paul agreed.

Luke studied his cards for a moment. "That's too rich for me. I'm outta here." He laid his cards down on the table.

Deacon laid the next card down. "You just know that Steph will have your ass if you lose your shirt like you used to back in the old days."

"I like to keep one hand on my wallet while I'm in here with y'all. I ain't forgotten whose son Jimmy is." Luke teased.

"Wheel's Up, I have a story for you that is both true and unbelievable. Vince and I didn't cheat in serious games. The only person we knew that we hustled at poker answers to the name of Rayna. I ain't gonna lie and say that there weren't months that the rent money came from a poker pot. Instead of doin' the smart thing and just payin' the rent. We'd borrow a couple hundred bucks from Dottie and then try to double it at the poker table. There may have been a time or two that we had to hustle then, but we didn't do it to you unless we were playin' 'round." Deacon laughed.

"From what I understand my momma used to give Vince an allowance." JC spoke up.

Deacon held up his finger in a sign for him to wait a minute. "Is the pot right?" He waited to get the nods he was looking for before he dealt the last card. "She did and sometimes she would have trouble gettin' the money to him without Big Jack findin' out 'bout it. More often than not we had to ask Dottie for money, cause he drank the rent and I wasn't gonna have Rayna do without anythin' she wanted or needed. I once laid asphalt in a heat advisory to buy her this pair of boots she wanted. She still has 'em and they have been thrown at me a time or two."

"You're right I don't think I believe you." Luke took his cowboy hat off and pushed his hair back.

Deacon flipped him off and laughed. "Alright, y'all show your cards."

"I've got nothin'." Will grumbled.

"I got a pair of kings." Paul laid his cards down.

"Full house, gentlemen, thank you very much." Casey raked her winnings in.

"I better get goin' 'fore your momma starts wonderin' where I am, DJ." Paul stood up and put his coat on.

"Yep, my wife is gonna be lookin' for me here soon if I don't get gone too." Deacon replied. "Gunnar, you good to drive?"

"I'll be fine to get myself home. I only had three beers." Gunnar assured him.

"I know better than to get drunk before you even ask." Luke said.

"Do you four need any help gettin' home?" Deacon asked JC, Will, Rhett, and Casey.

"My ride should be here any minute, dad." JC replied.

"His ride is my ride." Will added.

"Mine too," Casey chimed in.

"And mine," Rhett raised his hand. He poured himself yet another drink.

Maddie walked in the door without bothering to knock. "I'm surprised that you're all done this early." Her hands were on her back to support the weight of her pregnant belly.

"All these whipped puppies have to get home or we wouldn't be." Casey rolled her eyes.

"You can stay as long as you want, but I can't promise that I'll be able to stay awake. This little boy is taking a lot outta me." Maddie stifled a yawn behind her hand.

"Sweetheart, had you told me I woulda gotten 'em all home." Deacon kissed her cheek before he bent down and kissed her belly. "Hey, little buddy, your pawpaw sure does love you." He smiled when he was rewarded with a kick to his chin. "He's got the Claybourne temper."

"Daddy, they are fine. I don't mind getting them home." Maddie smiled. "He gets mighty pissed off when someone invades his space. Other than that he's pretty lazy. Unless I'm trying to do something and then he starts kicking up a storm. He's a pain in my ass just like his daddy."

"Hey, I heard that." JC pretended to be offended.

"Did I say something about you that wasn't true?" Maddie arched her eyebrow at him.

Paul walked over to her and hugged her. "Would you mind if I said hi to my great grandson?"

"I would love that and so would he." Maddie smiled again.

Paul rubbed her belly. "Hey, Whiskey, it's your Pa. I love you and I can't wait to meet you."

"I don't guess I can get you and dad not to call him that can I?" Maddie laughed.

"There ain't a chance of that. You shoulda known when you decided to name him Tennessee that I was gonna call him Whiskey." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"I for one happen to think that it is a badass nickname." Casey informed her best friend.

"Of course, you do. That sounds like something that you would approve of." Maddie snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Maddie, do you mind if we do a couple rounds of shots before you take us home?" Will asked her.

"I don't mind. Just as long as you know you're the one who has to deal with your husband." Maddie told him.

"Mack knows not to nag me." Will retorted.

"Rhett, what about you? Is Sadie gonna be pissed if I take you home shit faced?" Maddie asked her uncle.

"Nope, she will just be glad that I didn't drive home." Rhett replied.

"Maddie, since none of these other men have sense enough to tell you I will. Bein' pregnant looks good on you. You're glowin'." Luke complemented her.

"Thanks, Luke, you better stop flirting with me before my husband and your wife both take offense. That's before we get into what my mother would have my father do to you." Maddie joked.

"I ain't scared of Freakin' Deacon." Luke winked at her.

"All men better be scared of me where my baby girls are concerned." Deacon glared at him in mock seriousness.

"I hear you talkin', but I still ain't scared." Luke bantered back with him.

"You better get outta here 'fore I tell your wife what you really do when you take off once a week." Deacon hit him where he knew it would hurt.

"If you tell my wife I will tell yours." Luke countered.

"Mine will just be glad that I ain't drinkin'. She ain't gonna care how I make that happen." Deacon corrected him.

Maddie yawned again. "If you guys are gonna do shots you better go out there and do them. Your son and or nephew isn't gonna let me stay awake for much longer even though we just got up from a nap."

"Come on, y'all, I'll pour the shots." Casey volunteered.

"Somehow that don't surprise me at all." Deacon shook his head and laughed.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait, but my muse decided to leave me and this is the first time I've really felt like writing. I'm not giving up on this story. I know how much we all need it to keep our Deyna dreams alive. Until next time please review.


	96. Chapter 96

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 96

"Maddie, if you could kindly tell everyone that this is an office and not your personal mail box that would be great." Tandy told her niece when she walked into Highway 65.

"Gee, Aunt Tandy, it's good to see you too. I have no idea what you're talking about." Maddie rested her hand in the small of her back and rubbed her expanding belly.

"Don't give me any problems. Your baby cousin is doing enough of that for you." Tandy gestured to an assortment of gift baskets that were sitting off to one side of the office. "Those have come here for you from other labels. You're a big deal in this town and everyone wants to make sure you know it."

Maddie looked at the pile in shock. "I didn't expect all of that. You know that it's safer for me if I don't give out my home address to a bunch of random people. I can have Jimmy pick all of that up. There's no way that I can carry it. He flips out if I lift anything heavier than a coffee cup. Besides, I have things to do once I get out of this meeting with mom. I'm scheduling my maternity leave."

"Don't say that and make me feel older than I already do. It seems like I was just finding out that your mom was pregnant with you. You weren't supposed to get this old so fast." Tandy rubbed a tender spot on her back.

"It seems unreal to me too. Baby girl giving you issues?" Maddie asked.

"Only since she was conceived. I swear if Bucky wants another one we are using a surrogate." Tandy bitched.

"Call Jimmy and have him pick those packages up. If I keep mom waiting she won't be happy at all. It doesn't matter to her that she's always late, but everyone else always has to be on time." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I hear ya, kid. I will happily call your husband to come deal with this mess. I don't have the room for it. It's clogging up my office space." Tandy teased her and sent her on her way to her meeting with Rayna.

Rayna was sitting on her couch with her feet propped up on the table in front of her. It was one of the only positions she could get comfortable in. She didn't remember being this uncomfortable with any of her other pregnancies.

"If I'd have known this meeting was so informal I would have done it over the phone." Maddie joked. She sat down on the couch beside her mother.

"Your baby sister is doin' a number on your momma. As long as I don't have to move off this couch for a little while I'll be just fine." Rayna reached over and rubbed her daughter's belly.

"Where's dad today?" Maddie sank into the cushions.

"Your dad is fillin' in for Watty again. If I didn't know any better I would swear that crazy old man is grooming him to take over, so he can semi retire. Well, I do know him pretty well and that's what I strongly suspect. It would be perfect if that's the plan. Watty likes to play master of the universe to prove that he still has it." Rayna informed her.

"Dad is perfect for radio. He's just one of those guys you could listen to him talk for hours. Anyway, you know why I'm here." Maddie replied.

"Maternity leave. Take as long as you want. It's up to you. You're under no pressure here." Rayna reassured her.

"I don't wanna take too long, but I don't wanna rush it either." Maddie sighed. This was more complicated than she thought it would be.

"With you I took three months and I kept my touring schedule light. I mean we were on the road for nine months, but there were plenty of breaks. At that time in my career I really couldn't afford to be out long. I could have taken longer than I did, but I just couldn't. So, you spent most of your first year on a bus with me and your daddy. With Daphne, I took a whole year off. I didn't take that long off with the twins either, but everythin' here was a mess shortly after they were born. We had to get outta town. I didn't tour while I was pregnant with Charlie and she was almost a year old when I went back out. Jack on the other hand has gotten the most time with me. I took quite a bit of time off with him." Rayna did her best to advise her daughter on her options.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I've got it right. It's your fault that I love being on the road so much, because you wanted to be with your baby daddy and not your husband." Maddie couldn't help herself.

Rayna made a show of rolling her eyes at her daughter. "Deacon Junior," That was something her husband would have said. Well he probably wouldn't have said baby daddy, but it was similar.

"I'm not Deacon Junior, you have a son named Deacon Junior and I it was the right choice." Maddie scoffed.

"Maddie, it's a three way tie most days for which of Deacon's children is the most like him. Sometimes I think it's you, then sometimes it's Deac, and then there are times when it's Charlie. Well, it's always Charlie. I don't think that girl has any Wyatt or Jaymes genes in her. You just have your daddy's tongue and temper. Deac looks and acts like him, but he knows when to cool it. Charlie is Deacon in a tiny female body." Rayna shook her head.

"I won't disagree with that." Maddie laughed.

"Ok, let's get back to your maternity leave." Rayna got her back on track.

"I've been doin' this for almost half my life. I think I can afford to take a year off and spend it with my son." Maddie said after thinking it over.

"As your mom and your manager, I approve. You've had songs on the chart for the last decade if you take a year off to get the hang of bein' a momma then you will be fine. I'm sure that you won't stay entirely outta the spotlight." Rayna agreed with her.

"Then for now let's say that I'm gonna take a year. If that changes we can play it by ear." Maddie replied.

"That sounds good to me. For the record, I know you better than you know yourself and I think you'll get bored. I want you to know that's ok. You can love and cherish your kids, but still want somethin' more than just bein' a wife and momma." Rayna gave her a piece of advice she didn't ask for.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "I think I'll be bored too, but I don't know what I'll really want until I have my little boy in my arms."

"You're more right on that one than you know." Rayna smiled warmly at her.

"Am I your last meeting before you close the office down for the holidays?" Maddie asked her.

"Oh yeah, I'm outta this office early today and I'm gonna go enjoy my much needed rest." Rayna replied.

"I don't think the little ankle bitters you have running around the house are going to allow that." Maddie chuckled.

"They have all been surprisingly good about helpin' out and lettin' me rest. Especially Jack. He's determined to be the best big brother that he can. He wants his baby sister to love him." Rayna smiled fondly.

"That kid couldn't be any more adorable if he tried." Maddie shook her head. Her mother wasn't telling her anything about her baby brother that she didn't know.

"I know, that boy is my heart." Rayna replied.

"Mom, tell me something that I don't already know. You could pretend for all our sakes that he isn't your favorite." Maddie rolled her eyes playfully. "What time am I supposed to be at the house tomorrow?"

"That wouldn't be any fun in that for me." Rayna winked at her. "Why don't you and Jimmy just spend the night? It'll save you from havin' to get up super early. We can get ready together." She suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Maddie agreed. "Oh, I should also warn you that you let Jimmy and his little buddies babysit the three terrors today. They may be worse than they already are."

"They can't get any worse. I love those three to death and they are good kids, but they can get into some messes." Rayna sighed in resignation.

"If you had it to do all over again I bet you wouldn't have had the twins and Charlie so close together. You have three sets of hands and one super brain when it comes to getting into trouble." Maddie teased her.

"Even knowing what I know now I would still do it all, all over again. That may make me a crazy person, but I couldn't imagine three of the loves of my life any other way. One day soon you'll know exactly what I mean by that." Rayna reached over and rubbed her daughter's belly for good measure. "Hi in there, Whiskey. Your mawmaw can't wait to hold you in her arms."

Maddie shot a look in her mother's direction. "Dad and Pa are already calling him that I don't need you doing it too."

"Darlin', he's my grandson. I'm gonna call him a whole bunch of cute nicknames. And really think 'bout the two men who started callin' him that and I think you'll understand why." Rayna pointed out to her.

Maddie could only nod her head in agreement. "Do you think maybe my baby sister would like to have a little one on one time with her nephew?"

"I think she would love that." Rayna replied.

They both stood up and pressed their bellies together.

"Tennessee, say hi to your aunt." Maddie told her unborn son.

"I just have a feelin' that these two are gonna be the best of friends." Rayna smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Maddie smiled back.

* * *

"You know it's sad when the ankle bitters have an easier time comin' up with songs than we do." Gunnar observed. He was laid out across the couch at Deacon's old house with his guitar.

"Their parents are Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne. I'm pretty sure music is their blood and that's why it just comes to them." Will pointed out to him.

"It could also be because they are doin' it for fun and it's not how they make their money." JC threw out there.

"I'm pretty sure they are just that damn talented." Avery disagreed.

Charlie looked between her two brothers. "Guys, I'm pretty sure that Gunnar, Avery, Jimmy, and Will broke their brains."

"It sounds like it." Deac strummed his guitar without looking up at his sister.

"Maddie says that they all had somethin' wrong with them to begin with." Jayme added.

"Y'all need to stop listenin' to your sister. She thinks she's always right. Then she gets my husband all fired up with whatever it was she said and he thinks it's a great idea." Will chimed in.

"Don't pick on my Uncle Mack." Deac told him.

"You have been told, Will. Deac loves his Uncle Mack." JC laughed.

"Because he spoils my godson with hockey tickets." Will retorted.

"Deac, you best not forget who your godfather is." Gunnar teased the little boy.

"Gunnar, don't pick on Deac just 'cause everyone else picks on you. It's just sad." Charlie shook her head in mock resignation.

"Why do I live in fear that she's going to sign all our checks one day?" Avery asked.

"Because her looks and her personality scream Deacon, but there's just enough of Rayna in there to make her the HBIC." JC answered him.

"Does your mother-in-law know you refer to her in those terms?" Gunnar picked his head up off the couch.

"She knows and she's proud of it." JC shrugged.

"Do you guys ever get any songs written when you write together?" Jayme asked innocently.

"Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. It really depends on the day. I think we all have a little bit of writer's block." Will fielded that question.

"I have a little bit of a song. I just need y'all to promise you won't tell Maddie 'bout it. It's a surprise for when the baby gets here." JC looked at the four siblings in the room.

"We promise." They agreed readily.

" _Boy, you're gonna be so stubborn. You get that from your mother. I can already see it now you weren't built for backin'. Boy, there'll be a small town night you fall for her sky blue eyes. When she's in your arms you'll think you're a man and not a boy."_ JC played them a sample of what he had down.

"That's really good, Jimmy. I think Maddie and baby Tennessee are gonna love it." Charlie praised him.

"Thanks, Pistol, it's a work in progress." JC smiled at her.

* * *

Deacon dried off his hair with a towel before he crawled into bed beside his wife. She was already curled up with her reading glasses on and book. "It feels good to be in this bed and it feels even better to be next to you." He wrapped himself around her and kissed her cheek.

"From where you have your face buried in my neck I can feel that you skip shaving tonight. I ain't gonna complain. I love the feel of you up against me. You always smell so good after you get out of the shower. The soap you use suits you. I'm also just glad to be in the same room as you. We've both had very busy days today." Rayna leaned into him.

"I'm workin' on my beard. It's me and I don't wanna shave it. You keep complimentin' me like that and I'm gonna blush or think that you just wanna get into my pants." Deacon pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Darlin', as much as I would love to I'm just too tired and all our children are here tonight. We wouldn't wanna scar 'em for life." Rayna giggle as his beard tickled her skin.

"It wouldn't be nothin' they ain't already heard on a tour bus or walked in on by accident." Deacon caressed her body reverently.

"You need to behave I ain't messin' with you tonight." Rayna took off her glasses and put her book on the nightstand.

"Well, what did you want to do tonight?" Deacon rested the side of his head on his hand and propped himself up on his elbow.

"I wanna name our baby." Rayna told him. She thought it was high time that their baby girl had a name.

"I'm still pushin' for Everly." Deacon informed her.

"The name has grown on me and I think it's adorable. Everly June Claybourne." Rayna rolled over to look at him.

"Honey, you don't have to do that. We gave Charlie momma's maiden name as her first name." Deacon stared into her eyes deeply.

"I think it's only fair. Maddie has my momma's middle name and Charlie has my momma's first name as her middle name." Rayna reminded him.

"Scarlett has momma's name as her middle name. What 'bout Everly Jennings Claybourne?" Deacon suggested. "Or Everly Grace? Grace is my momma's middle name." He added.

Rayna's eyes lit up she was in love with one of the choices he'd just gave her. "Baby, would it bother you very much if I told you I love Jennings as her middle name?"

"Not at all. I was hopin' you would like it or I wouldn't have suggested it." Deacon snuggled up to her.

"Finally, it's settled. Everly Jennings Claybourne it is." Rayna smiled and stole a kiss from him.

Deacon scooted down in the bed to kiss her belly. "Daddy loves you very much Everly. I hope you come out lookin' every bit like your momma. I think outta seven kids one of you needs to be her twin."

"I can't believe after all this time we finally got her named." Rayna was relieved they had finally come to a decision.

"It just takes time to get it right sometimes." Deacon rubbed her belly.

"Honey, as much as I love you lovin' on her. We need to get to sleep we have a busy day tomorrow." Rayna reminded him.

"Don't sound all outta sorts 'bout it. I think it'll be fun to do this Christmas special." Deacon crawled back up in the bed and took her in his arms.

"So do I. I think Christmas with the Claybourne's is a great idea and it's for a good cause. It's raisin' money for woman and children in shelters. It's just gonna be a hectic day and we need sleep." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Ok, but tomorrow night after this is over. Me and you are gonna log some quality time between these sheets." Deacon gave her fair warning.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, babe." Rayna kissed him deeply in a promise of things to come.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	97. Chapter 97

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 97

"Rayna and I are happy to welcome y'all into our home to share in our Christmas traditions with us. This is a very special time of the year for us and this year we have a little more to be thankful for than usual. This is a time for family and celebration." Deacon stood next to Rayna with his arm around her shoulders.

"We have been extremely blessed in our personal and professional lives. We recognize that not everyone is that lucky. This year thousands of women and children will be spending Christmas in a shelter or out on the streets with nowhere to go." Rayna picked up for him.

"As someone who has been personally touched by the type of domestic violence that lands families in those types of shelters I can tell you that it isn't an easy position to be in. I remember that there were times I would pray for help to come that never did. There are too few resources in this country devoted to protectin' these survivors. That's why we are askin' you to give to the cause near and dear to our hearts." Deacon spoke again.

"We couldn't do any of this alone, so we have invited our friends and family over to really give you glimpse into what goes on in our lives." Rayna finished up the opening for them.

"And cut," MJ gave the thumbs up signal. "That was perfect. It couldn't have gone better had it been scripted."

"We just didn't want this to feel cheap or staged. We wanted to do it right." Deacon explained.

"Trust me, it's perfect, Uncle Deacon." MJ reassured him.

"Now what?" Rayna asked.

"Now, I'm gonna go make sure that my crew set up everythin' in the recordin' studio the way I told 'em to. We will get everyone in and out as quickly as possible. I'm gonna go out with the mobile unit to cover Pa and his boy scout den. I want to get good footage of the toy drive they do every year." MJ answered.

"Ok, we will keep things under control here." Deacon told him.

* * *

" _I'll have a blue Christmas without you. I'll be so blue just thinkin' 'bout you. Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree. Won't be the same dear if you're not here with me."_ Deacon went first in the recording studio. They had picked the perfect song for him to cover.

" _And when those blue snowflakes start fallin' that's when those blue memories start callin'. You'll be doin' alright with your Christmas of white, but I'll have a blue, blue, blue Christmas."_

He'd had many Christmases where he'd felt that way. Both when he was a child and in the years he'd been separated from Rayna. Thankfully all of that was in his rearview mirror now and he had more than he could have ever asked for.

" _You'll be doin' alright with your Christmas of white, but I'll have a blue, blue Christmas."_ He finished singing softly.

"I don't have just one favorite Christmas memory I have two." Deacon spoke into the camera. "Uh, the first one is when I was a kid. It was an almost perfect year. Dad had a steady job and there were presents under the tree and food on the table for a change. He wasn't drinkin' that year I guess. There was money to go 'round. It wasn't even the abundance of stuff that I remember the most. It was just the first time maybe the only time from my childhood I remember us feelin' like a real family. He was lovin' on us and dotin' on my momma. It was just great." He smiled a little. It was one of the best memories he had from his childhood.

Christmas 1979

"DJ, smile and show off what Santa brought you." Paul instructed his son. He had a video camera pointed at him. For a change he was sober and he was holding down a job. It was a rarity for both those things to happen at the same time.

Deacon did as his father told and he gave a big grin. He proudly showed off the new guitar he'd gotten for Christmas. "I got a brand-new guitar."

"I'm sure you'll go break it in as soon as your daddy is done makin' his video." June laughed and leaned against Paul's side.

Paul turned the camera around to face them and smiled happily. He kissed his wife's cheek wetly "Show off them new earrings, babe."

June rolled her eyes playfully and pushed her hair behind her ears to show off her sparkling new diamond earrings. "I think I must've been a real good girl this year for Santa to spoil me like this." She flirted with her husband.

"I can attest to that." Paul smirked.

"Ok, it is Christmas mornin' you heathen. Give that camera and get in there with your kids." June took the camera from him.

Paul got down on the floor between Deacon and Beverly. He pulled his daughter into a hug and ruffled his son's hair affectionately.

The smile didn't leave June's face as she recorded them. She wished that this was the Paul her kids always got. This was the man she had fallen in love with.

Deacon blinked his eyes a few times to shake that memory off. They'd gotten only six more weeks of Paul acting like that before he reverted to his usual self.

"My other favorite memory is the first Christmas I spent with Rayna and Vince in a cramped little apartment with a shabby little tree. We didn't have much that year, but there was a whole lotta love and a whole lotta fun. That year was the first time since my childhood that I felt like I had a family. I really wish I had a picture of that Christmas tree right now. I can't even describe to you how pathetic it looked. The presents we had under it were wrapped with newspaper or in plastic bags. It was the crapiest apartment I've ever lived in, but all I knew at the time was that I was happy. We were all happy." A nostalgic smile came to his face. Those were some of the best times of his life and he didn't even know it at the time.

A genuinely happy smile came to his face now. "I lied I have one more favorite Christmas memory. This one tops the other two. It was our first Christmas in this house after the boys were born. That was the first time I knew that I had a forever family."

* * *

" _I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know. Where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow."_ Rayna went into the recording booth next.

" _I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas with every Christmas card I write. May your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be white."_

Some of the best memories she had to look back on came from this time of year. Whether it was memories of her mother or memories from her younger days with Deacon or her first Christmas as a mother.

" _I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know. May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white. I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas with every Christmas card I write. May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white. May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white."_

"My favorite Christmas memory?" Rayna tapped her bottom lip and pondered the question. The memory that came to mind first was so sharp it felt like she was in it.

Christmas 1982

Rayna was slumbering peacefully in her bed. At twelve she was a little old to still be excited about Santa Claus, but she had just gotten settled down a little while ago. It was one of the few things that there were to get excited about, because it meant her mother would be home for a little while for a Christmas break. She was more excited about that than about Christmas morning.

Virginia snuck into her daughter's bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. She pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping girl's temple and nudged her gently. "Wake up, baby girl,"

Rayna stirred and opened her eyes. A huge smile lit up her face. "Momma, you made it home."

"Of course, I did. I promised you that I'd make it home for Christmas and I did. I know that I cut it a little close, but my flight got delayed. I would've walked if I'd had to, to get back home to you. I know that you've had a hard time the last few weeks with your daddy. I'm sorry 'bout that. I know that he is a pain in the ass." Virginia smothered her face with kisses.

"What did you wake me up for?" Rayna giggled and wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Daddy is just so hard on me sometimes and so distant that I don't think he actually likes me."

"Listen to me, Chipmunk," Virginia cupped her daughter's face in her hands. "Your daddy loves you very much, but he just doesn't always know how to express that in the right way. He thinks that his way is always the best way and no one else gets to have an opinion. I woke you up 'cause, I have somethin' special for just the two of us to do together. Get up and get dressed. Make sure to put on warm clothes and meet me in the garage."

Rayna nodded in understanding. "Ok, momma," she got out of bed and started to get dressed.

Ten minutes later she met her mother in the garage.

"Hop in the car, sweet pea." Virginia opened the car door for her and helped her get in.

"Where's Tandy? Is she not comin' with us?" Rayna looked confused.

"No, this is somethin' for just me and you. I think that you need it. Her and your daddy are thick as thieves and you feel a little bit on the outside when I'm not here. So, we are gonna go wait for Christmas together." Virginia told her.

She drove them up to her riverfront property there was a fire already roaring. Being a major country star and having the kind of money she did had its advantages. She could get things done on a moment's notice. She took a thermos of hot chocolate and her guitar out of the car. They both took a seat on the blanket she had spread out on the ground.

Rayna cuddled into her mother's side and looked up at her adoringly.

Virginia picked up her guitar and started to strum the tune for a Christmas song that they both knew.

That was how they had spent the rest of the night waiting for Christmas. When the sun started to lighten the sky, they got in the car and drove back home.

Rayna closed her eyes tightly to will off the tears that were welling in them. That had been her last Christmas with her mother and probably the most cherished memory she had of her. When she was sure that she could open her mouth, and speak without getting choked up she went on. She picked up a picture and showed it to the camera. "This is Deacon, Vince, and me in front of our tree the first Christmas we lived together in this tiny little cramped apartment. We didn't have much, but we were all very happy. It was the first Christmas I had enjoyed since my momma died. I was finally around people who understood me again."

"Let me get a good close up of that picture. Uncle Deacon was just lookin' for that." MJ had the cameraman zoom in on the photo.

"None of us knew just how good we had it then. If we'd known what makin' it was gonna do to us we mighta chose to stay in that moment." Rayna commented with a watery smile.

* * *

June stood at the island in the kitchen with Jack making cookies and singing jingle bells.

"Mrs. Claybourne, what's one of your favorite Christmas traditions?" A member of the production staff asked her.

"Please call me June." June smiled warmly.

"June, what's one of your favorite traditions?" He asked the question again.

"My favorite tradition is havin' my grandkids and great-grandkids come over to bake cookies, decorate the house, and go to church with me the next mornin'. We make two whole days outta it. We watch Christmas movies and sing carols. It's perfect." June smiled fondly.

"It's such a big deal that we even arrange our tours around it. We all clear a weekend in our schedules and go over there." Daphne walked into the room.

"They don't even object to it. If you know anythin' 'bout these tourin' musicians messin' with their schedules is a very big deal." June teased.

"Mawmaw, you are really hard on us when you wanna be." Daphne teased her back.

"Daphne, you have to be nice to mawmaw." Jack piped up.

Daphne took a piece of cookie dough and threw it at her baby brother playfully. "You hush. I don't need any help from the peanut gallery."

"I'm gonna tell momma that you're bein' mean to me." Jack pouted cutely.

"Jack Henry, don't pay any attention to your sissy and leave your momma alone." June laughed at him. She didn't know how he was gonna handle not being the baby anymore.

* * *

"Pa, I just need you to look at the camera and explain what you're doin'." MJ coached Paul on what to do.

"I can handle that." Paul was dressed in his scout master uniform. Back in his day before he'd gone down a bad path he'd been an Eagle Scout. When his grandchildren got involved in scouting he was the natural choice to be their leader. He'd had to have a lawyer work out his criminal record, but it was no longer a problem.

"This is our annual winter warm up coat drive for the needy. The kids and stand out here freezin' all day and gettin' coats for those who otherwise couldn't afford it." Paul explained.

"Do you normally get a lot of donations?" MJ asked.

"We get a good many donations. The people of this city really are incredible with their givin' spirit." Paul answered him. "And I think it helps that my scouts aren't above puttin' on a little show if they have to." He grinned. "Y'all do one for the people."

Deac, Jayme, Charlie, and Jase were all part of his troop. They broke out into a rendition of Rudolph the rednosed reindeer.

MJ put both his thumbs up once they were done. "That's perfect. I couldn't have asked for better from you."

* * *

Rayna and Deacon smiled as they passed each other in the living room.

"Hey, pretty lady," He put his hand on his unborn daughter.

"Hey, handsome," She put her hands on his chest and kissed him sweetly.

"This ain't as bad as I thought it was gonna be." He observed.

"Not at all." Rayna agreed with him.

"It is a little bitter sweet though. Talkin' 'bout the past. We had a rough road to get to here." He rested his forehead against hers.

"I know. I got in there thinkin' 'bout my momma and 'bout Vince and it was all I could do not to cry 'cause of these hormones from Miss Everly." She kissed him again.

"That first Christmas with Vince seems like a lifetime ago. Hell, it seems like we were different people when it happened." He mused.

"It was a we were. We are the same people we were back then, but we are different at the same time." She wrapped her arms around his waist.

Christmas 1988

Deacon walked into the raggedy apartment he shared with his best friend and his girlfriend carrying what had to be the saddest tree to every grace a Christmas tree lot. They didn't have a lot of room or a lot of money so it was perfect for them. A misfit tree for a band of misfits. "Ray, Vinny, I'm home and a brought a little somethin' to make this place look a little better."

Vince and Rayna looked up from the card game they had going on and laughed when they saw the tree.

"Babe, it was a nice thought, but that tree is in pretty bad shape." Rayna pointed out to him.

"Don't be nice 'bout it, Ray. That tree makes Charlie Brown's Christmas tree look good." Vince picked up his beer can and drained it in one gulp.

"It's all any of us could afford and we can't not have a tree this year. I don't know why I try to please either one of you." Deacon sat the tree up. He went and got himself a beer.

"Deac, you got it and I know it was to try to cheer me up 'cause I'm down and I really appreciate it. I love it. It's fittin' in a way. It's not like we could've gotten anythin' bigger in here." Rayna rewarded him with a kiss.

"Well, I'm sure that we could find somethin' round here to decorate that damn thing with." Vince jumped aboard the train.

After digging through the trash they were able to come up with enough tabs from beer cans to make chains around the tree. It was unique and them in every possible way. Once they had decorated the best they could they broke out the camera and posed for a picture in front of the tree.

"You're right. I think for a long time before the boys came along that was probably the happiest time in my life." Deacon pulled them both out of their shared memory.

"I was happy before the boys came along, but I wasn't as happy as I was that first Christmas we spent together." Rayna leveled with him.

"I guess I better let you get out of here and over to your daddy's so we can get this over with." He bent down and kissed her belly.

"Yep, I'm not lookin' forward to that at all. Don't remind me." She groaned and buried her face in his chest.

* * *

" _I'll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me."_ JC sang.

" _Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree."_ Maddie picked up. They were the next in the booth.

" _Christmas eve will find me where the love light gleams. I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams."_ They sang together.

" _I'll be home for Christmas you can plan on me."_ Maddie took that line this time.

" _Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree."_ JC crooned.

" _Christmas Eve will find me where the love light gleams. I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams."_ They held hands and stared into each other's eyes as they finished.

"What's it like going into this Christmas season as newlyweds and expectant parents?"

"I don't know if there are words to describe what it feels like. All I know is I'm even more excited for it now than I was before." Maddie tried her best to answer.

"I just know that I'm on cloud nine. I have the best wife that a man can ask for and a baby on the way. I don't think I get ask for anythin' else to make me happy for awhile." JC chuckled.

"For once I have to say he's right and that I couldn't have said it better myself. I can't wait to introduce our baby to the traditions that we already have and to make some new ones as a family." Maddie added.

"What she said. I don't get in trouble if I agree with her." JC put his hand on her belly and kissed her cheek.

* * *

Lamar took a guitar from beside the chair where he sat and handed it to Rayna. "See if you can't do something with that thing. You're the one who took after you mother when it comes to music. It's only right that you lead us in carols like she used to."

Rayna laughed to keep from crying. "Daddy, I hope you don't think I know what to do with this thing. I practiced and practiced on it and I'm still no good. I'm married to the best guitar player in the business and not even he could teach me how to play guitar. That should tell you how bad I am."

"We know how bad you are, but you're the only one who can do it right now." Tandy pointed out to her.

Rayna turned to look at the picture of her mother sitting on the mantle. "Momma, I'm sorry for how this is about to sound, but I'm doing the best I can." She started to play the guitar. They broke out in Jingle Bell Rock.

"Well, I have to say that's not as spirited as it used to be and I felt like it was missing something." Lamar cleared his throat.

"It was missing mom. I can't believe we have lived so long without her now." Tandy wiped a tear away quickly.

"She always did love doing this house up for Christmas and getting you girls excited. It feels right to bring this tradition back." Lamar actually smiled.

"Yeah she did. She was really good at bein' a momma and makin' us all happy." Rayna got choked up.

"She's where the traditions I teach the children come from. I think it's only right that they know their mawmaw was here and would have loved them dearly." Lamar let a little emotion escape.

"Please she would have the kids even more rotten than they already are." Tandy snorted.

"And she would have been thrilled that you're gonna be a momma. You'll understand exactly what it was she always tried to do for the minute you hold that baby in your arms. I felt it when I held Maddie for the first time. I think it's part of the program. I just know havin' kids makes this time of year even better." Rayna gave her some advice.

"She left me alone to spoil these grandbabies and I only hope I do her justice. I try my best anyway. I know that I'm not as fun as she would have been. She would have built blanket forts with Jack and played guitar with the twins. She would have picked up a pistol and shot cans with Charlie. Virginia Jaymes is one woman none of us can ever hope to replace." Lamar spoke reverently of his late wife.

"Daddy, you have two pregnant daughters don't do that." Tandy tried to fight off her tears.

"Let's light this giant tree before we ruin our makeup." Rayna brought some levity to the situation. She couldn't help, but feel touched that her father had shown his humanity to them finally. It's like he'd stopped holding back that part of himself from his daughters.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for such a long wait. I'm trying to be better about that. Until next time please review.


	98. Chapter 98

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. As an apology for the long wait I put in a scene that I'm sure you guys are really going to like.

* * *

Chapter 98

" _Away in a manger no crib for a bed. The little lord Jesus lay down his sweet head. The stars in the sky look down where he lay. The little lord Jesus asleep on the hay."_ Deacon strummed his guitar and sang softly.

Tandy reached over and placed his hand on her belly. "You feel that? This baby obviously takes after her Aunt Rayna. She's going crazy over hearing her Uncle Deacon sing and play guitar."

Rayna put her hand on her sister's belly and put one of her sister's hands on hers. "These two little girls have that in common then." She smiled happily. "Sing somethin' else, babe."

" _Silent night, holy night. All is calm all is bright. Round yond virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."_ Deacon sang another song. "I like to get 'em started on good music young."

They were gathered at Rayna and Deacon's house for their annual Christmas Eve bash.

Maddie leaned down as best she could with her growing baby bump and kissed the top of her father's head. "Your grandson really likes hearing you sing too. I have a feeling he's gonna be a pawpaw's boy."

"Of course, he is. There ain't no question 'bout that. That little boy is gonna think his pawpaw hung the moon." Deacon smiled up at her.

"I don't know what's more unbelievable in this instance that Maddie is old enough to be having a baby or that Tandy is pregnant." Teddy observed. Rayna and Deacon had invited him and Claire over to make things easier on Maddie and Daphne.

"Teddy, stop talking. I liked it better when you and Deacon didn't get along and I could look forward to not having to deal with both of you at the same time." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"Teddy ain't even here to spend time with the girls. He's here 'cause he wants to con some meatloaf outta my momma. If he was 'round here all the time he'd probably be close to five hundred pounds." Deacon snorted.

"I would argue with him, but he didn't say anything that wasn't true." Teddy shrugged his shoulders.

"It's all true. Teddy lives for June's meatloaf. He has her send him one at least twice a month and sometimes it's more than that." Claire chimed in.

"That meatloaf is a religious experience. My mother never cooked like that." Teddy shrugged again.

"Your momma came from money and mine didn't. Mine can cook like no one's business." Deacon informed them.

"I can attest to that. I can't really cook and my momma couldn't cook to save her life. She could make a few things, but I dreaded the days when we had to try to eat what she cooked." Rayna laughed.

"Oh, please, you know as well as I do mom wouldn't cook if she didn't have to. She was great at ordering take out if she needed to. You're just like her that way and there's no shame in that. Your talents lie elsewhere." Tandy gave her a pep talk.

"I'm sorry that I even came over here to have a conversation. I never know what my innocent words are going to touch off." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Are Connor and Greg behaving themselves. I know that they aren't always the best behaved and I would hate for them to embarrass you." Claire spoke up. She found that she didn't always know what to say to Maddie. She got the feeling that the girl didn't really like her that much.

Maddie had to laugh at that. "Forgive me, I'm not trying to be rude. It's just if you knew this group of people as well as I do. You would know that there's no way those two could embarrass me."

"If Jimmy and Will ain't gettin' into a mess together then it's Maddie and Casey. Or Juliette and anyone I send her out on the road with. Even Rhett and Mack like to make problems for me."

Rayna snorted.

"They are all grown adults, but momma and daddy still have to clean up the messes they make." Deacon teased.

"And by that he means that they have Aunt Tandy clean up the messes they make." Tandy interjected.

"And what they all mean by that is your boys are fine." Bucky added.

"There's nothin' that they can do that hasn't been done in this house." Deacon chuckled lowly.

"Trust us when we say that there are a few people in this house tonight who have tested those boundaries." Rayna put her arm around Deacon's shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm going back over to my husband and our crazy friends. I'm pretty sure that there was talk of him and Will getting out a jar of moonshine. I'll learned by now to take all talk of alcohol seriously when it comes to them." Maddie excused herself.

"That's one way to get rid of her." Teddy commented.

"None of them ever stay gone for long." Rayna shook her head. "Speakin' of the problem children in this family, where is Charlie?"

"The last time I saw Pistol I think she was talkin' to her Pa." Deacon answered.

"Deacon, you better go find your daughter. You know how her and your father are together." Rayna arched her eyebrow.

"Why does she gotta be just my daughter?" Deacon sat his guitar down.

"She's your daughter when she's actin' like you. And since that is almost all the damn time she's your daughter." Rayna reasoned with him.

Deacon looked around for the kids. "I can see them all they are fine."

"For now anyway. It's only a matter of time before one of them finds a firecracker and steals a lighter to set it off." Tandy scoffed.

"I can't wait until you have that kid so I can talk as bad 'bout her as you do 'bout my babies." Deacon countered.

"I won't have that problem both you and Rayna were a little on the wild side in your younger days that's why your kids are like that. Mine only has her Aunt Rayna and her daddy in her. Buck is just as well behaved as I am." Tandy corrected him.

"This poor baby is gonna be born with a calculator in one hand, a pair of glasses, and a sound business plan." Rayna joked.

"And don't you forget that my baby girl is gonna be smart." Bucky jumped in.

* * *

After their guests had gone home for the night and the kids were asleep Rayna laid on the bed waiting for Deacon to get out of the shower. Normally she would have joined him, but he'd said something about wanting to surprise her and she'd gone with it.

She rubbed her belly lovingly and she had her head propped up with her hand. "Little girl, I don't know what your daddy is up to, but he's up to somethin'. I have a feelin' that you're behavin' yourself and sleepin' like a little angel right now. Make sure you stay that way after you're born. Your big sisters aren't so great at bein' good all the time, no they're not."

"Babe, you ready for me?" He called out through the closed bathroom door.

"I'm just waitin' on you. You better get your ass out here before I fall asleep." She called back to him.

Deacon opened the bathroom door and walked out. He had on a Santa hat, a pair of red pants trimmed with white fur held up by bright red suspenders, and a pair of black boots.

Rayna put her hands over her mouth and laughed. "Babe, what in the world are you doin'?"

"Ho, ho, ho, pretty lady, I heard that someone has been an awful good girl this year." Deacon walked over to the edge of the bed.

Rayna sat up and smirked at him. She put her hand on the bulge in front of his pants. "Is that so?" She bit her lip sexily.

"I also heard you like to be bad in a good way." He winked and pulled away from her touch. He picked the remote for the stereo and turned it on.

 _Well, it's Christmas time, pretty baby  
And the snow is fallin' on the ground  
(Christmas, Christmas)_

"I think I like where this is goin'." She smiled up at him sexily.

"You just sit right back and enjoy then." He started to move his hips to the music. He never claimed to be a good dancer, but he felt like changing things up a little bit. He'd wanted to do something special for the woman who had given him so much. He put his thumbs under his suspenders and pulled them out from his body.

 _Well, it's Christmas time, pretty baby  
And the snow is on the ground (Christmas, Christmas)  
Well, you be a real good little girl  
Santa Claus is back in town (Christmas, Christmas)_

He took his hat off and waved it around like a lasso. He danced over to his wife and put it on her head. He planted a trail of teasing kisses on her neck before he moved away from her again.

Rayna watched him with lust in her eyes. She licked her lips. If anything her husband got even better with age. He was like a good bottle of whiskey.

He kicked his boots off and continued his attempt at a strip tease.

 _Got no sleigh with reindeer, no sack on my back  
You're gonna see me comin' in a big black Cadillac_

Deacon moved close to Rayna again and did a few deep hip thrusts in her face. He turned around and rolled his ass, so she could get a view of that too.

It was all Rayna could do not to drool over him. She marveled at the way the muscles in his back rippled as he slipped the suspenders down his shoulders. She felt herself becoming overheated and she unbuttoned the top two buttons on her pajama shirt. She let out an involuntary moan when he leaned in and nibbled on her ear.

 _Whoa, oh, it's Christmas time, pretty baby  
And the snow is fallin' on the ground  
Well, you be a real good little baby  
Santa Claus is back in town (Christmas, Christmas)_

Deacon dropped his pants and let them pool around his feet. He was now clad only in a pair of Christmas themed boxers.

 _Hang up your pretty stockings  
Turn off the light  
Santa Claus is comin' down your chimney tonight_

He pulled Rayna to her feet and grinded against her. He moved his hands over her body touching her everywhere, but where and how she wanted to be touched. "Can we stop actin' like I know how to dance and get on with this now?"

"As much as I loved what you just did, I want you now." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

 _Whoa, oh, oh, oh, it's Christmas time, baby  
And the snow is fallin' on the ground  
Well, you be a real good little baby  
Santa Claus is back in town (Christmas, Christmas, Christmas)_

"Hold that thought," He dropped his boxers as the last note of the song played. "Now, you can say I stripped for ya."

She reached between them and stroked his erection. "It was like you unwrapped this present for me."

He moaned softly and bucked into her hand. He unbuttoned her pajama shirt and he kissed each patch of skin that came into view. He slid his hand over the gentle swell of her belly to her hips. He kissed, bit, licked, and sucked on her neck while he pushed her pants and panties down. He picked her up and laid her down on the bed.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes with wanton abandon. "Babe, don't make me beg for it. I want you badly."

He brushed his lips against hers. "I want you too." He whispered softly and slid into her without breaking eye contact.

Rayna moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist. She used her heels to draw him further into her.

Deacon put a hand on her hip and glided in and out of her in smooth easy strokes. He rubbed his cheek against hers and buried his face in her neck. He took a deep breath to take in her scent. She always smelled like strawberries and lavender. In the years when they were apart every time he smelled lavender it had reminded him of her.

She dug her nails into his back and then left long angry scratches down it. "Fuck me, babe,"

He didn't need any further invitation he thrust deep, fast, and hard into her. He pinned her arms over her head and then he dipped his head to suck both her nipples. He bit down gently and then he smirked at the loud moan in brought forth from her lips.

She arched her up off the bed and into him. She bit her lip and tossed her head from side to side in pleasure.

He drug his length over her clit on every in and out stroke doing his best to bring her to the brink.

Rayna freed one of her hands from his grasp. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled it gently. She kissed him deeply and bit his lip.

Deacon varied the speed of his thrusts to keep her guessing. He felt her start to tighten around him and he stopped holding back. He thrust full bore into her and kissed her back forcefully.

Every muscle in her body went rigid and she let out a long, loud moan as she came around him.

Feeling her tighten completely around him was all it took for him to spill his seed into her. He didn't bother to pull out he just flipped over on his back and took her into his arms. He panted heavily and stroked her hair soothingly.

She kissed his chest and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "That was wow,"

"We are good at that." He smiled down at her.

"We are so, so good at that." She laughed softly.

"We always have been. The one thing I can say 'bout us is the sex has never been bad." He agreed with her.

She broke out into a full blown fit of giggles.

"What is that 'bout?" He looked at her questioningly.

"It's just dawning on me that you dressed up like Santa and stripped for me. I have to be the luckiest woman in the world to have a guy like you love me." She peppered his chest with kisses.

"I'm the luckiest man in the world to have a girl like you love me. After all the years and tears we've been through I don't know why you still love me. I just know I'm thankful that you do." He kissed the top of her head tenderly.

"I think that we are both pretty damn lucky. The fact that we still love each other after all these years and everythin' we've been through means what we have is real." Rayna laid her head on his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Ray," Deacon dropped his hand down to her belly and rubbed it lovingly. "Merry Christmas, Everly."

She put her hand on top of his and threaded their fingers together. "Merry Christmas, Deacon." She kissed him sweetly and closed her eyes.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait and I know the chapter is short, but I wanted to get something out to you guys. We are getting closer to the end only about twelve chapters to go before we move on to the next story in the series. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me. Until next time please review.


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